PM to dedicate Narmada dam to nation today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the Sardar Sarovar Dam ( pictured) on the Narmada on Sunday, described as Gujarat’s lifeline by BJP leaders, at an event coinciding with his 67th birthday. The foundation stone of the dam was laid on April 5, 1961, by the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. However, it took 56 years to complete its construction.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada on Sunday, described as Gujarat’s lifeline by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, at an event coinciding with his 67th birthday.

The foundation stone of the dam was laid on April 5, 1961, by the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. However, it took 56 years to complete its construction. Modi will arrive here tonight, and seek blessings of his mother Hiraba tomorrow morning.

His visit, which has added significance as the Assembly elections are due in Gujarat by year-end, is the second in less than a week after he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here and launched the Bullet train project.

“Tomorrow Sardar Sarovar Dam will be dedicated to the nation. This project will benefit lakhs of farmers and help fulfil people’s aspirations,” Modi tweeted on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Congress has claimed the project is not complete and canals of 43,000 km length were yet to be built.