Katni, July 16 -- Madhya Pradesh's ambitious Sleemanabad Tunnel, a key component of the Bargi Diversion Project, is on the verge of completion with only one metre of tunnelling work remaining after nearly 17 years of construction, according to a press release.

The 11.952-km-long Sleemanabad Tunnel with a diameter of 10.14 metres, built through the Vindhya mountain range, will carry Narmada water to the Son river basin through gravity flow without the use of pumps. The tunnel is a part of the 197-km-long Right Bank Main Canal originating from the Bargi Dam in Jabalpur.

The canal, with a discharge carrying capacity of 227 cumecs--the highest in the state--has been designed to provide assured irrigation to nearly 2.45 lakh hectares of farm...