Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Sunday, 19 July 2026, inaugurated and inspected the Belwa-Meenapur Link Channel (Belwadhar), a 68.80-kilometre canal built at a cost of Rs 130.88 crore under the Bagmati-Burhi Gandak River Link Scheme, stretching from Belwa in Sheohar district to Meenapur in Muzaffarpur district.

Context

Choudhary described the project as a realisation of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Nadi Jodo Abhiyan (River-Linking Campaign), now being carried forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his post, the Chief Minister said the channel 'will give new direction to flood management, irrigation capacity, and the scientific use of water resources.' The inauguration marks a significant milestone in a canal network that has been in planning for decades across north Bihar's flood-prone Gangetic plains.

Policy Backdrop

The idea of interlinking India's rivers at scale was institutionalised when the Vajpayee government constituted a task force in 2002 to prepare a national river-interlinking plan aimed at moving surplus water to deficit basins. The National Water Development Agency had earlier identified Himalayan river links in Bihar — including connections between the Bagmati, Kosi, and Gandak river systems — under the National Perspective Plan drawn up in the 1980s. Successive central governments have pursued these proposals to address recurrent flooding in the Ganga plains and to augment irrigation availability.

The Bagmati-Burhi Gandak River Link Scheme is designed specifically to connect the two basins in north Bihar, reducing flood peaks while channelling water for agricultural use during dry spells. Sheohar and Muzaffarpur districts — the two endpoints of this newly commissioned stretch — are among the regions most frequently inundated by the Bagmati and Gandak rivers during the monsoon.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are north Bihar farmers and flood-affected villages across Sheohar and Muzaffarpur districts. Chief Minister Choudhary stated that the project 'will increase agricultural productivity for farmers, create new employment opportunities, and give new momentum to the resolve of a developed Bihar.' The dual function of the channel — carrying away excess monsoon water while retaining it for irrigation in lean months — addresses the paradox of annual flooding coexisting with seasonal water scarcity that has long defined the agrarian calendar in this region.

Beyond agriculture, the commissioning of the link canal is expected to ease pressure on road and rail infrastructure that is routinely disrupted by Bagmati and Gandak floods, with downstream effects on trade and daily mobility in the two districts.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the remaining stretches of the broader Bagmati-Burhi Gandak River Link Scheme and to official assessments of post-commissioning outcomes — particularly whether the channel delivers measurable reductions in flood inundation and improvements in crop yields across Sheohar and Muzaffarpur. The Bihar government's ability to demonstrate tangible results from this stretch will influence the pace and political momentum behind completing the wider interlinking network in north Bihar ahead of the next agricultural cycle.