Canals of four dams in four states, including the Vani Vilas Sagar dam in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district, are all set to be modernised.
The modernisation is being undertaken to ensure smooth flow of water through the canals and to avoid wastage. Vani Vilas Sagar dam irrigates 30,000 acres of land in Chitradurga district.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has decided to fund works pertaining to the modernisation of canals of dams in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Daniel Renault, an expert from France, has held meetings with engineers in Karnataka and Maharashtra and a meeting is likely in Rajasthan soon. Later, ADB will submit a detailed project report on the project.
Canals of Palkhed dam in Maharashtra (41,000 hectares of land) Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana in Rajasthan (3.47 lakh hectares of land) and Loharu project in Haryana (60,000 hectares of land) will also be modernised.
Vani Vilas Sagar dam executive engineer Chandramouli told DH that the canals of the dam are unlined and it leads to wastage of water.
The length of the right bank canal is 42 km, while that of the left bank canal is 44 km. Apart from these, there are distributor canals. Due to the uneven shape of the canals, water discharge is affected.
A global tender will be invited for the project. The implementing agency will execute the work under the supervision of the dam engineers.
The work is expected to cost Rs 730 crore and the state finance department has already given its consent.
At 116 years, Vani Vilas Sagar dam is the oldest in Karnataka. No repair work has been undertaken since its construction.
It reached the maximum level of 135 feet last year, second time since its construction, after a gap of 89 years.
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