Congress blames Gujarat govt for flood-like situation in Bharuch district

The Gujarat Congress on Monday alleged a flood-like situation in some parts of Bharuch district was caused due to the BJP government's urge to please Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday because excess water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam was suddenly released, instead of gradually over days, into the Narmada river on September 17.

The ruling BJP, however, refuted the allegations saying the dam, situated near Ekta Nagar in Narmada district, received an unprecedented amount of water within a span of just 36 hours from the upstream, which forced authorities to release 18 lakh cusecs of water into the downstream on September 17, Modi's birthday.

Cusec is a measure of flow rate of water and is abbreviation for cubic feet per second (which is equivalent to a flow of 28.317 litres per second).

The Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river reached its full reservoir level (FRL) of 138.68 metres for the first time this monsoon on Sunday morning (September 17), prompting the authorities to open 23 of the facility's 30 gates to release excess water coming from the catchment areas in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

To celebrate the occasion, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel reached Ekta Nagar on Sunday morning and welcomed the water by performing puja at the dam. The CM also wished Modi on his birthday.

Within hours of releasing 18 lakh cusecs water, several areas in Bharuch district situated along the Narmada river started getting submerged. As per government data, more than 6,000 people living along the Narmada banks in the district were moved to safer places after the river's water level at Golden Bridge rose to 40 feet due to water discharge from the dam.

Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said the BJP government deliberately stopped releasing the water earlier to ensure the dam gets filled on September 17.

''To ensure the dam achieves FRL on PM's birthday, the BJP government had stopped the outflow for a week by shutting down the (hydro-power) turbines. Instead of releasing some amount of water everyday, the BJP government released 18 lakh cusecs of water on September 17 after the CM did that drama on the dam. This caused a flood-like situation as water in some areas reached up to the second floor (of buildings),'' alleged Gohil.

The government should refrain from doing things which jeopardize people's lives, he said.

''It is possible the PM may not be aware that the BJP government in Gujarat was doing such drama to please him. The government should refrain from doing such things which endanger lives of people and lead to disaster,'' said the Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat.

Health minister and state government spokesperson Rushikesh Patel said the dam received nearly 110 per cent of water in just 36 hours, which forced the authorities to release 18 lakh cusecs water on September 17.

''It was not a man-made disaster as alleged by the Congress. Along with the water released from Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dams in Madhya Pradesh, heavy downpour in the catchment areas of Narmada brought an unprecedented amount of water to our dam. We received 110 per cent of water, that is equal to the total capacity of the dam, in just 36 hours'' Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar.

''As against 22 lakh cusecs of water we received on September 16, we released nearly 18 lakh cusecs by opening gates of the dam on September 17. This caused a flood-like situation in areas situated near the river in Bharuch district,'' he said.