PM Narendra Modi dedicates Sardar Sarovar Dam on river Narmada to the nation

AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today dedicated to the nation the Sardar Sarovar Dam on river Narmada today, described as Gujarat's lifeline by BJP leaders, at an event coinciding with his 67th birthday.

The foundation stone of the dam was laid on April 5, 1961 by the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. However, it took 56 years to complete its construction.

His visit, which has added significance as the Assembly elections are due in Gujarat by year-end, is the second in less than a week after he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here and launched the Bullet train project.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had called the project as "Gujarat s lifeline" noting that the agriculture income and production of farmers in the state more than doubled because of it.


The foundation stone of the dam, which could prove to be a boon for the people of the state's perennially-parched areas like Saurashtra, Kutch and North Gujarat and even few districts of Rajasthan, was laid on April 5, 1961 by first the country's first prime minister, Jawharlal Nehru.

In 1964, to resolve the dispute about sharing of the Narmada water between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the Government of India appointed an expert committee under the chairmanship of Dr A N Khosla, as per the website of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd.

The power generated from it would be shared by three states in which Madhya Pradesh will get 57 per cent, Maharashtra 27 per cent and Gujarat 16 per cent.

The foundation stone of the dam, which could prove to be a boon for the people of the state's perennially-parched areas like Saurashtra, Kutch and North Gujarat and even few districts of Rajasthan, was laid on April 5, 1961 by first the country's first prime minister, Jawharlal Nehru.

The delay in the completion of the dam was due to numerous reasons. Medha Patkar-led Narmada Bachao Andolan took the government to the Supreme Court over environmental and rehabilitation issues, and obtained a stay in 1996.

The court allowed resumption of work in October 2000.

The height of the dam was recently raised to 138.68 metres, which will allow maximum 'usable storage' of 4.73 million acre feet of water.

PM @NarendraModi dedicates to nation, Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia in Narmada district of Gujarat.#HappyBirthdayPM #SevaDiwas pic.twitter.com/AEzbTFXYeA

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) September 17, 2017

"The Congress committed the sin of obstructing the project at every step. Within 20 days of becoming prime minister, Modi gave final approval to raise the height of the dam," Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said here.

PM Modi will go to Sadhu Bet, an island in the Narmada river where a 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, called 'Statue of Unity', and a memorial complex dedicated to the country's first home minister are coming up.

Thereafter, the PM will attend the closing ceremony of 'Narmada Mahotsav', and address a gathering at Dabhoi.

He will also lay the foundation stone for National Tribal Freedom Fighters' Museum during the event.

Modi will then visit Amreli in Saurashtra where he will attend a host of programmes and address a public gathering.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Congress has claimed that the project is not complete and canals of 43,000 km length were yet to be built despite the BJP ruling the state for 22 years.