Connect with us

National

Modi to inaugurate world’s second biggest dam on September 17

Published

7 years ago

on

By Anand Singh
Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Sep 13 (IANS) Fifty-six years after the foundation stone for the Sardar Sarovar Dam was laid by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in Narmada district’s Kevadia, the dam, one of India’s biggest, will be finally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, which is also his birthday, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.

“The Prime Minister will dedicate the Sardar Sarovar project to the nation after opening the 30 gates installed in it, which were closed on the directions of the Narmada Control Authority on June 17 this year,” Rupani told IANS.

The Narmada Control Authority had ordered the gates of the Sardar Sarovar Project be shut on June 16. The gates of the country’s highest dam were closed the following day.

After closure of the gates the height of the dam was increased to 138 metres, with storage capacity raised to 4.73 million cubic metres (MCM) from the existing 1.27 million cubic metres.

Earlier, the height of the dam was 121.92 metres.

“It is the best gift for him on his birthday, as he has worked tirelessly for the dam to bring water in the parched areas of the state,” Rupani said.

Accusing the opposition Congress for delaying the Sardar Sarovar project, the Chief Minister said: “Before 2014, the UPA government did not give permission for seven years to install gates on the dam. And after Modiji became Prime Minster, the permission was granted in 17 days.”

He also said that with the inauguration of the project, over 18 lakh hectares of land in the state would be benefitted with irrigation as Narmada water will flow to over 9,000 villages of Gujarat through a canal network.

“When Modiji came to power in 2014, within 17 days he gave permission for the installation of the gates, and it took three years to complete the installation of gates,” a senior official associated with the work of Sardar Sarovar project told this visiting IANS correspondent.

Each gate weighs over 450 tonnes and it takes one hour to close them, the official said.

Explaining the characteristics of the Sardar Sarovar project, the official said that it is the biggest dam in terms of volume of concrete used in it.

“It is the second biggest dam in the world after the Grand Coulee Dam in the United States,” he said.

The official said the 1.2-km-long dam which is 163 metres deep has till date produced 4,141 crore units of electricity from its two power houses — river bed powerhouse and canal head powerhouse — with an installed capacity of 1,200 MW and 250 MW, respectively.

“The dam has earned over Rs 16,000 crore — more than double the cost of its construction,” he said.

According to the SSP official, the power generated from the dam would be shared among three states — Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Fifty-seven percent of the electricity produced from the dam goes to Maharashtra, while Madhya Pradesh gets 27 per cent and 16 per cent goes to Gujarat.

According to the SSP officials, it will irrigate 2,46,000 hectares of land in the strategically important desert districts of Barmer and Jalore in Rajasthan, and 37,500 hectares in the tribal hilly tract of Maharashtra. A special allocation of 0.86 million cubic feet (MAF) of water has been made to provide drinking water to 131 urban centres and 9,633 villages, which is 53 per cent of the total 18,144 villages of Gujarat.

The SSP which was inaugurated in 1961, got delayed due to several reasons. One of the main being the opposition to construction of the dam by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) led by social activist Medha Patkar. The construction work was suspended in 1996, after the NBA activists obtained a stay order from the Supreme Court, which highlighted environmental and rehabilitation issues.

It was only after the top court gave an order in October 2000 in favour of construction of the dam that work resumed. However, the apex court had set a condition that permission to increase the dam height would be given in parts after the project-affected-people (PAP) are resettled or compensated.

(Anand Singh was on a trip to Gujarat organised by the Good Governance Cell of the BJP. He can be contacted on [email protected])

–IANS
aks/rn/dg

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

National

Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok

Published

2 months ago

on

September 19, 2024

By

Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.

The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.

Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.

For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.

During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.

Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.

Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .

Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.

In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.

In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.

He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.

Continue Reading

Trending