Context:

=> Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the Rs 9,802 crore Saryu Canal National project in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points On Saryu Canal Project:

=> The Saryu Canal project is the biggest in Uttar Pradesh.

=> It will benefit some 25-30 lakh farmers across nine eastern UP districts namely, Bahraich, Gonda, Basti, Shravasti, Balrampur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharthnagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj.

=> Canal will facilitate irrigation of 14.04 lakh hectares of land, as well as reduce the risk of floods in several flood-prone areas of the region.

=> The irrigated area under the project will be 4.04 lakh hectares.

Rivers connected under the project:

=> Under this project, five rivers namely Ghagra, Rapti, Banganga, Saryu and Rohini, have been connected.

Length of the canal:

=> The canals are having a total length of 6,600 kilometres and have been linked to the 318 km long main canal.

History of the project:

=> This project was started on a small scale, back in 1978 to provide irrigation facilities in two districts with a cost of Rs 78.68 crore.

=> In the year 1982, it was expanded to nine districts and Its name was changed to Saryu Canal National Project.

=> The cost of the project increased to Rs 9,802 crore by 2021.

The Saryu River:

=> The Saryu River originates at a ridge south of Nanda Kot Mountain in Bageshwar district of the Uttarakhand. It flows through Kapkot, Seraghant and Bageshwar, towns and finally discharging into the Sharda River at Pancheshwar, which is located at India—Nepal border. It then flows into Ghaghara River in Sitapur District of Uttar Pradesh. Lower Ghaghara is also known as Saryu River, especially when it flows through the city of Ayodhya. The river has been mentioned multiple times in the ancient Indian epic called Ramayana.