With the Narmada water-level steadily rising, officials of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) are hopeful that the dam will reach its full reservoir level (FRL) of 138.63 metre by the end of this monsoon. On Friday, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who arrived in Kevadia colony on a two-day visit, said that the government did not need permission from the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) to fill the dam. On Saturday, the dam stood at 132.30 metres, with all 30 gates closed.
According to SSNNL officials, with one more month for the monsoon to withdraw, the dam is most likely to reach its FRL. “We are estimating that the level will rise to 138.63 metres by the end of monsoon. The rain in the catchment area is heavy and the inflow from Madhya Pradesh has been steady too. The dam is anyway at its highest level so far even at 132.3 metres because we have not been able to go beyond 130 in the last two years.”
On Friday, Rupani, while answering queries from the media persons, said that the government does not need permission from the NCA to fill the dam to its FRL so long as the protocol is followed. “We have to be judicious in following the dam protocol while raising the level in the reservoir. There is no need to seek permission,” Rupani said in response to questions about a recent statement by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel about the government needing approval from the NCA to fill the dam to its FRL.
Rupani, who was in Kevadia on Saturday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in September, also inaugurated a river rafting facility in Kevadia close to the Statue of Unity as part of tourism initiatives in the location. He also inaugurated a free WiFi service at the Statue of Unity in association with Mukesh Ambani’s Jio network.