Narmada waters to recharge 6 rivers,183 talav from May 25-31

Government of Gujarat has decided to release 8,000 cusec of water from the Narmada Main Canal to recharge six seasonal rivers and 183 lakes in north Gujarat from May 25 to 31, 2010, with a view to solve the drinking water problem of the people and cattle living along the route.

This comes to about 4,000 mcft of water which should suffice for the water starved region, the Water Resources Minister Shri Nitinbhai Patel said here today.

The Narmada water will be released by Water Resources Department at the 141-km point on the Main Canal. It will cover the command area of Narmada Main Canal and Saurashtra Branch Canal. The rivers to be recharged include Saidak, Mahor, Vatrak, Sabarmati, Rupen and Banas. The water thus released would recharge the underground water table also. Part of this water would be pumped up with the help of four pipelines under Sujalam Sufalam Yojna for the upstream areas in Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, Ahmedabad and Surendranagar.

Similarly, he said, 1,000 mcft water would be released from the Kadana dam to recharge five rivers, eight lakes and 61 check dams over 15 days. This would recharge rivers like Bhadar, Dhamni, Mahor, Majhum and Meshwo.