Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi asks officials to sort out differences with Jharkhand

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi today directed officials of Water Resources Department (WRD) to go to Jharkhand and meet their counterparts to find quick solutions to disputes related to North Koel and Batane Reservoir projects.

The Chief Minister issued the instructions after being told by the WRD officials that 80 per cent work on the reservoirs was complete but the rest was delayed because of dispute with Jharkhand over a few issues related to it.

"The state government takes problems being faced by farmers very seriously and tries to remove them expeditiously. The disputes over North Koel Reservoir and Batane Reservoir shall be solved quickly and we are sending WRD secretary to Jharkhand for this," the CM said.

Manjhi reviewed the progress of both projects with Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, WRD secretary Dipak Kumar Singh and other senior officials at his official residence.

While the position of the sluice gates of Batane Reservoir needs to be lowered, gates need to be fixed at the Kukkut dam of North Koel Reservoir.

The two projects will extend irrigation facilities to over 1.03 lakh hectares in and around Aurangabad district of Bihar. They will also help irrigate 11,000 hectares in neighbouring Jharkhand.