Ahmedabad: An already parched Gujarat will now have to see water from Narmada river being routed to the lake surrounding the Statue of Unity (SOU) to prepare it for its unveiling by PM Modi on October 31, said reports on Friday.
A report by DNA pointed out how only recently, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had declared the entire district of Kutch and six tehsils of other districts as scarcity-hit areas after inadequate rainfall.
It said even during the Gujarat polls last year, the river’s waters were used to fill the Sabarmati riverfront so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seaplane could land.
The state will release water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam on October 31 to fill the artificial lake surrounding the SOU.
Besides the statue, the project boasts of an exhibition gallery and research centre.
On Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary, PM Modi will inaugurate the 182-meter tall statue located on Sadhubet (a landmass) in the Narmada river basin.
Sources say before the inauguration, the government will release an additional 78 MCMs of water.
The reservoir, as on Thursday, said the report, had 6,323 MCM of water which is just about 67% of its capacity because of lack of rains.
The water can be sent back to the dam through pumps, or can be flowed downstream.” Deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, who is also the minister for the Narmada department, could not be reached for his comments.
Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said it was a shame that when the state’s farmers were suffering from a water crisis, so much stored water would be used for a “publicity stunt”.