Botad: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is attending SAUNI project link 2(upto Amreli) phase 1 inauguration(from Surendranagar to Botad) and phase 2 bhoomi pujan(from Botad to Shetrunji dam) function at Botad just after marking welcoming Narmada waters to Krishna Sagar lake.

Highlights of speech:

New generation perhaps will be surprised why we call Botad a pilgrim place for BJP. In the era when we(at BJP) were working as Jan Sangh, we used to paint walls with our party symbol which was oil lamp at that time. And while doing so we would believe our party will win for sure but Jan Sangh or its leaders in those days were hardly known to public. In 1967 Botad was the first municipality to elect Jan Sangh to power. And for that reason, in those days, Botad had attracted lime light nationally. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay had directly arrived at Botad from Kerala to thank the people here. Today when we are marking centenary of Deendayalji, we are fulfilling his dream ‘harr hath ko kam, har khet ko pani.’ While bringing Narmada waters to this place from 400 km away we are extremely happy. One who has seen dry, barren Krishna Sagar lake only would realize the importance of water. Today when Mata Narmada has arrived here, I request everyone here to wave your mobile phones with its lights on to welcome Maa Narmada.

When we were spending huge money for water projects, it was questioned and asked we would not win election if we continue to do so. We were told we should spend for something which is visible. My reply was, I just want to ensure villages of Gujarat to become prosper. Villages of Gujarat will not prosper through money but through water, we had firm belief. If there’s water on one side and money on other side, Gujarati person would choose water. Gujarat govt is spending Rs 16,000 crore budget for SAUNI yojana. Maa Narmada is 400 km away from here. If we build canals to carry water it will be cheaper option, but then people will start stealing water using big water pumps on canal route. We decided to lay pipelines in order to prevent water theft.

I request the people of Gujarat that they should not waste even a drop of water. We lift water to height of 400-500 meter for prosperity of farmers. We are working in direction of permanent solutions and not trying short cuts. Coming generations would see what their forefathers did for water. Look at Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Singh government. Each Gujarati needs to thank Shivraj Singh for what he is doing. Origin of river Narmada is not located in hills. Its origin is in the forests. Water seepage from trees create inflow in river Narmada. To ensure that Gujarat farmers don’t face water problem for next 100 years, Madhya Pradesh government has launched yatra on the bank of Narmada to encourage the locals there for forestry. Shivraj government is making a forest which will ensure that Narmada river continues to be richer in future. I am going to attend the concluding function of Narmada yatra.

Drip irrigation, sprinkler should be made dharma of our life. Nowadays all types of crops can be produced using drip irrigation and sprinkler. If we save water, our future generations will get water. When Maa Narmada has arrived here, our responsibility is far bigger now. In 2022 we want to make farmers income double. When we were in Gujarat, tap water percentage was in range of 4 to 14% . After our govt, almost 80% housing units have tap water supply in kitchens. Thousands of crores are spent to accomplish this task. Gujarat is fortunate to have such sustained long-term systems. We have not taken short cuts.

I am first person who has got opportunity to work as Prime Minister after so many years spent as Chief Minister of some state. Whether its about timely availability of urea or water, I lived with you and whatever I learnt as Chief Minister is being utilized now.

DeshGujarat