Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad
The Congress on Monday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat had delayed the release of water from the Sardar Sarovar dam to coincide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17.
The sudden release of water, the Opposition party said, led to floods in downstream Bharuch district and resulted in large-scale damage. “Despite heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh and hourly monitoring of water levels in Narmada dam, the authorities did not release adequate amounts of water on September 15 and 16 and waited for the dam to overflow on September 17 to make someone happy,” Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil alleged.
The Congress leader said that the timely release of water would have prevented floods in five districts of the state.He claimed that it was a “man-made disaster” as a large amount of water, equivalent to 18 lakh cusecs, was released at once. “We demand all concerned officials to be booked for criminal negligence and confiscate their property for paying compensation to the flood victims,” Doshi said.
While Minister Rushikesh Patel attributed the overflowing Sardar Sarovar Dam to continuous rains, the Narmada catchment area, upstream precipitation, and water release from other states. He said that water levels rise to double capacity due to severe rains spanning 1.5 days, Narmada catchment area inflow, upstream rainfall, and water release from other states. Refuting Gohil’s allegations Patel said that it was a natural disaster.