PM shares news of Sardar Sarovar water level reaching 134 mts

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said water level of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in his home state Gujarat has touched a 'historic' 134 metres, and asked people to visit it and the nearby Statue of Unity.

The dam authorities said this is the highest water level after the dam's height was raised to 138 metres in 2017.

Modi also tweeted pictures of the dam, located at Kevadiya in Gujarat, across the Narmada river.

"News that will make you thrilled! Happy to share that the water levels at the Sardar Sarovar Dam have reached a historic 134.00 meters," the PM tweeted.

"Sharing some of the breathtaking view, with the hope that you will go visit this iconic place and see the 'Statue of Unity'," Modi added.

Modi inaugurated the 'Statue of Unity', comprising an imposing 182-metre statue of Sardar Patel, touted as the world's tallest, on October 31 last year. The monument, built on islet Sadhu Bet near the Sardar Sarovar Dam, is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US.

The prime minister also noted that the statue has founda place in the Time magazine's "100 greatest places 2019" list.

"... few days back, a record 34,000 people visited the site in a single day. Glad that it is emerging as a popular tourist spot," Modi tweeted.

Managing Director of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) Rajiv Kumar Gupta said the dam water level reached 134 metres on Wednesday, the highest so far.

"Storage stands at 4301 mcm (million cubic meters), consistently moving higher with sufficient inflows from upstream," Gupta tweeted.

The SSNNL control room, the dam is currently receiving a staggering 7.49 lakh cusec (cubic feet per second) of water, of which 4.49 lakh cusec water is being released downstream by opening 23 of the total 30 gates.

The dam, which has the capacity to store 4.75 million acre feet of water, is 84.84 per cent full at present.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had last week expressed hope that the water level will soon touch its full reservoir level at 138 metres for the first time since 2017 when its height was raised by installing gates.