Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will inspect the country's longest water tunnel, the Sleemanabad Tunnel in Katni district, on Friday.
The Sleemanabad water tunnel, one of the state's most ambitious irrigation projects, has reached the final stage of completion.
Work on the 11.952-km-long mega tunnel is nearing completion, with only the final one-metre breakthrough remaining. The tunnel is designed to transport Narmada water by gravity through the Vindhya mountain range to the Son River basin.
Upon completion, 2.45 lakh hectares of land across nearly 1,450 villages in Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Satna, Rewa and Panna districts will receive permanent irrigation facilities, paving the way for the transformation of the agricultural economy in the Vindhya and Mahakaushal regions.
The water tunnel is not merely a mechanical structure built with concrete and stone but is also described as a bridge destined to heal a centuries-old mythical separation.
According to folklore, the Narmada and Sonbhadra rivers, originating in the Maikal range at Amarkantak, flowed in opposite directions, drifting forever apart.
