Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the first phase of the ambitious Rs 12,000 crore SAUNI (Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation Yojna) project that aims to satiate the water and irrigation needs of the perennially parched regions of Saurashtra in Gujarat.
The SAUNI project, which in Gujarati means something for everyone, aims at diverting the excess floodwater from Sardar Sarovar Dam to fill up 115 dams in the water-scarce Saurashtra region through a network of canals and pipelines. The first phase would help irrigate 4.13 lakh hectares of land.
The Prime Minister pressed a button at the Aji-3 dam to open Gate two, three and four, to start release of the water that would fill up Aji-4 dam. Simultaneously, water would also be pumped into Uund-4 reservoir. Modi had launched the scheme when he was Gujarat Chief Minister in September 2012, and on Tuesday opened the first phase.
Officials call the SAUNI project an engineering marvel since it involves lifting huge amounts of water through hundreds of kilometres to fill the dams. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also tweeted on the event.
Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj
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