Gujarat govt instructs release of Narmada water in all canals to save standing crops in the wake of delay in rain

Gandhinagar:

In a significant pro-farmer decision, the Gujarat government today took a decision to release water in all the canals on Narmada Project to save the crops in the wake of scanty rain in various parts of the state.

Education Minister Bhupendra Chudasama and MoS Irrigation Parbat Patel today informed this decision taken in the cabinet meeting headed by CM Vijay Rupani.

They said that around 7000 cuses of water was already being released in Narmada canal for the purpose on the instructions of Deputy CM Nitin Patel and now the CM had decided about immediate release of water as per need in all the canals in North and Central Gujarat and Saurashtra to save the standing crops due to delay in another spell of rain.

Chudasama said that in the Fatewadi and Kharicut canals of Ahmedabad district also water of Narmada would be released from tonight only. ‘In the areas of rain-starved North Gujarat the work of filling the ponds and supply for irrigation through pipelines of Sujalam Suphalam scheme was already on. It would continuing in coming days also,’ he added.

Notably even though so far only around 73% of monsoon rain has been recorded in the state with Kutch and North Gujarat seeing less than half of their average rain yet fortunately due to rain in catchment area of Naramad in MP, the Sardar Sarovar reservoir in Gujarat has seen ample inflow of water in last few days. Its water level has gone above 124 meter and there was over 30% live storage of water in it for supply for drinking as well as irrigation purposes.

DeshGujarat