The Gujarat government has decided to celebrate the completion of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river, by organising a two-week long 'Maa Narmada Mahotsav' which will start tomorrow.
The mahotsav has been planned at a time when the Assembly polls are just a few months away and the ruling BJP has decided to make the completion of Sardar Sarovar dam as one of its major poll plank.
According to an official statement issued today, during the celebrations, that will continue till September 17, eighty-four chariots, named 'Narmada Rath' would travel across the state to spread awareness about the importance of the Narmada project and its effects on the lives of the people of Gujarat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the closing ceremony of the 'Mahotsav' on September 17 to inaugurate the dam, which was completed 56 years after its foundation was laid.
"Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will kick off the celebrations at a function in Surendranagar tomorrow," the release said, adding he will also flag off one of the chariots at the function, while the remaining one will be flagged off from different parts of the state.
According to the statement, each of these 84 chariots will carry a statue of 'Maa Narmada' and reach Kevadiya Colony in Narmada district on September 16 after visiting 24 districts and seven major cities of the state.
A statement issued by the state unit of the BJP said on September 17 the prime minister is expected to visit Kevadiya Colony to take part in the celebrations.
"Our PM will dedicate the Sardar Sarovar Dam to the nation in presence of religious leaders and other dignitaries at Kevadiya Colony on September 17, which is also his birthday. He will also address the people at Dabhoi in Vadodara district," BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya had said a few days back.
Fifty-six years after the foundation stone was laid, the dam was finally completed after the state government on June 17 got permission from the Narmada Control Authority to close all the 30 gates of the dam, raising its height to to 138.68 metres.
The foundation stone for the dam was laid in 1961 by then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
The construction work for the dam was suspended in 1996, after the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activists obtained a stay order from the Supreme Court, by raising environmental and rehabilitation issues.
It was only after the apex court gave an order in October 2000 in favour of the construction of the dam that the work on it resumed.
However, the SC 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.
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