Chandigarh, Jun 25 (PTI) About 45 per cent construction work for Shahpurkandi Dam project has been completed so far, Punjab Water Resources Department Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said here.

All development activities were halted due to the unprecedented nationwide lockdown, imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

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"Water Resources Department resumed the construction work on the Shahpurkandi Dam project on April 29 with all COVID safety measures. Now, the work of the project is going on in full swing and 45 per cent work of the main dam has been executed", an official release quoted Sarkaria as saying.

He expressed hope that filling of reservoir for the project would start by mid-2022.

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The project will start generating power by August, 2023. It will further improve irrigation system and clean power generation process in the state, he added.

It will act as a balancing reservoir to ensure uniform water supply to canal system taking off from Madhopur Headworks, Sarkaria said, adding that the project will create irrigation potential for 5,000 hectare land in Punjab.

After its completion, the project will generate 1,042 million units of electricity per annum.

The Shahpurkandi Dam project is being constructed on river Ravi, 11 Km downstream of Ranjit Sagar Dam and 8 km upstream of Madhopur Headworks, in Pathankot district.

It will reduce the outflow of river water to Pakistan, while benefiting both Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, once it is completed.

S K Saluja, chief engineer Shahpurkandi Dam project, said it would ensure regular irrigation supply of water.

The project would also create tourism potential and improve socio-economic conditions of the people in this border area, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)