Ground-level work has commenced under the Kosi-Mechi Link Project with the objective of interlinking two major rivers in the country. Large-scale excavation and desilting operations are being executed on a war footing along the Kosi canal network to link the Kosi river with the Mechi river. A substantial fleet of machinery, including rows of tractors and heavy JCB excavators, has been deployed at the project site to accelerate earth digging and remove accumulated silt from the canal.

According to the video, work in the first phase covers a stretch running from kilometre zero to 40 or 41 kilometres. Construction activity is currently underway near Bataha. This large canal passes close to Balwa and serves as the channel that carries irrigation water to agricultural fields across Araria and Purnia districts in Bihar. People present on site stated that construction activities have begun from both directions, progressing simultaneously from the Kosi end and the Mechi river side.

Due to the heavy volume of soil and silt carried by the Kosi river, massive sediment deposits had accumulated in this major canal over time. This heavy siltation raised the canal bed level significantly, which obstructed water flow and rendered the BCC structures completely non-functional. Consequently, farmers were deprived of irrigation water for their fields. The ongoing project operates under a three-year agreement designed to restore irrigation facilities to farmers within three years. However, local villagers estimate that completing the entire work from both sides will take approximately five years.

According to information shared by locals at the project site, a plan of approximately Rs 6,600 crore has been sanctioned for this 41-kilometre stretch. Along with extensive desilting and cleaning of the canal, the work reportedly includes reinforced cement concrete (RCC) construction on both banks as well as in the middle of the canal bed. The video notes that this marks the first instance in the nation's history where two rivers are being manually connected through a government-built artificial canal route rather than merging naturally.

However, local residents have also expressed concerns regarding the quality of work being carried out on the ground. In the video, local resident Sanjay alleged negligence and poor execution quality in the ongoing construction. He explained that farmers had earlier been led to believe that the canal would be widened, but no expansion of the canal width has taken place on the ground. Instead, the canal is merely being cleaned while retaining its existing original width and alignment.

According to Sanjay, failing to widen the canal and leaving it deep could make it difficult for irrigation water to reach elevated farmlands. He noted that widening the canal to maintain a higher water level would have ensured that irrigation water reached all surrounding fields effectively. Nonetheless, cleaning operations and silt removal using tractors and JCB excavators remain underway on site, raising hopes among farmers in Araria and Purnia for the restoration of irrigation to their fields.