Due to heavy rains in the catchment areas of Madhya Pradesh, the water level of Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is also increasing. On Saturday, the water level of the dam reached 136.43 meters. Sardar Sarovar Dam is just two meters away from being completely filled. With the release of about three and a half lakh cusecs of water from the dam, officials of Bharuch district have advised people living in low-lying areas as well as villages situated on the banks of the Narmada river to remain alert.
Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) officials said the water level of Sardar Sarovar Dam located at Kevadia in Narmada district has reached 136.43 metres, the highest in the current season. The full storage capacity of the dam is 138.68 metres. According to SSNNL, the average inflow of water into Sardar Sarovar Dam has been more than 4.37 lakh cusecs, forcing it to release about 3.45 lakh cusecs of water.
Speaking about this, the Bharuch District Magistrate in a post on ‘X’ on Friday night requested people living in low-lying areas near the Narmada river to take precautionary measures as the water level of the river rose due to the release of water from the dam. District Magistrate Tushar Sumera said that at present 3.25 lakh cusecs of water is being released into the Narmada river from the Sardar Sarovar Dam and the Narmada is flowing at a level of 20.20 feet, which is close to the warning level (22 feet). Therefore, citizens living in low-lying areas are requested to be cautious.
Sardar Sarovar Project is one of the largest water resource projects in India, which supplies water to four major states-Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. This project helps in irrigating 18.5 lakh hectares of land in Gujarat and 2.4 lakh hectares of land in Rajasthan. Not only this, three crore people get drinking water due to this dam. But due to the continuous rise in the water level, there is a danger of flooding in the surrounding areas.
