UP tops in developing Amrit Sarovars
Lucknow: With construction of a total of 8,462 Amrit Sarovars (lakes), Uttar Pradesh has topped states in the implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious mission, which is aimed at conserving water for the future.
Madhya Pradesh is ranked second, Jammu and Kashmir third, Rajasthan fourth and Tamil Nadu fifth in the implementation of Mission Amrit Sarovar.
In UP, Lakhimpur Kheri has secured first position by constructing 256 Amrit Sarovars in the state, while Gorakhpur and Pratapgarh have got second and third positions respectively with 244 and 231 lakes.
Director of Rural Development Department GS Priyadarshi on Monday said on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as many as 15,497 Amrit Sarovars were identified in different village panchayats of which 8,462 have already been developed, which is almost twice the total number of Amrit Sarovars developed collectively in MP, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
According to Priyadarshi in MP, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, 1,668, 1,458, 898 and 818 Amrit Sarovars have been developed respectively so far. Besides, construction of 3,705 Amrit Sarovars is underway in MP, 406 in Jammu and Kashmir, 2,385 in Rajasthan and 763 in Tamil Nadu. Altogether 15,497 Amrit Sarovars in UP, 5,994 in MP, 3,699 in Jammu and Kashmir, 5,097 in Rajasthan and 3,765 in Tamil Nadu have been identified for development under the mission.
UP is the only state in the country where the development work of Amrit Sarovar, is going on on a war footing. In all 1.20 lakh Amrit Sarovars will be developed in the state, which is the highest in the country. In Lakhimpur Kheri, work on 256 Amrit Sarovars out of 315 has been completed whereas construction of 25 is underway.
Similarly, construction of 244 out 312 Amrit Sarovars has been completed in Gorakhpur while work is going on on 18. Moreover, construction of 231 lakes out of 282 has been completed in Pratapgarh and work is underway on the rest.
Director Priyadarshi said in the first phase of the mission under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, a target was set to develop 75 Amrit Sarovar in 75 districts of the state, which was completed ahead of schedule. The Yogi government also seeks to develop at least two Amrit Sarovars in 58 gram panchayats (approximately 1.20 lakh) in the second phase. The government has developed 7500 Amrit Sarovars under the Amrit Mahotsava of Independence.
Notably,the large-scale construction of Amrit Sarovars is also providing employment to a sizable section of the rural population in UP. It has solved the irrigation problem of farmers and also increased their income. Apart from this, villagers are increasing their income by doing fish farming in Amrit Sarovar.
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