Nuapada, Mar 10:  Chief Minister Naveen pattnaik launched the Lower Indra mega irrigation project in Nuapada district today.

Apart from it, he has inaugurated a slew of  developmental projects worth Rs 2337.15 crore across the district.

Addressing a public meeting, the Chief Minister said that 1.80 lakh people of 200 villages under Komna, Khariar blocks of Nuapada district and Bangomunda,Muribahal and Titlagarh blocks of Balangir district would be benefited by the Lowe Indra irrigation project.

In Nuapada Rs 220 crore mega lift irrigation projects will be completed by the end of this year which will irrigate around 18 thousand hectares of agricultural land under Komna,Nuapada,Sinapali and Boden blocks of the district. Besides the project will irrigate another 7500 acres of land, announced Naveen.

Thus,the drought prone Nuapada will turn green,he said stating that fifty four per cent of the district’s 1.5 lakh acres of agricultural land have now received irrigation benefits.As a result the paddy yield of the district has gone up.Besides the coverage under cotton and maize cultivation has risen.

The Chief Minister announced that a science park and a museum will be set up at the Lower Indra dam site at a cost of Rs three crore.