• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rs 9,802 crore Saryu Nahar National project in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur district.

• The project, which is the biggest in Uttar Pradesh, will benefit 29 lakh farmers in nine eastern UP districts — Bahraich, Gonda, Shravasti, Balrampur, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj.

• It will facilitate irrigation of 14.04 lakh hectares of land and at the same time, reduce the risk of floods in several flood-prone areas of the region due to water coming from Nepal.

• Five rivers have been connected under this project, including Ghagra, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohin, while canals with a length of 6,600 kilometers have been linked to the 318 km long main canal. 

• The state government started this project on a small scale in 1978 for irrigation in two districts at a cost of Rs 78.68 crore. Four years later in 1982, it was expanded to nine districts. 

• Its name was changed to Saryu Nahar National Project and the cost increased to Rs 9,802 crore by 2021.

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