Rs. 1300 crore Narmada purification project implementation soon

Bhopal: Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that a Rs. 1300 crore project has been chalked out in Madhya Pradesh to purify Narmada river. The project will be launched from its originating point Amarkantak. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan was speaking as the chief guest at the 3rd International River Festival at Bandrabhan today. propounder of Ganga Samagra Abhiyan and ex-Chief Minister Sushri Uma Bharti, Narmada Samagra’s Chairman Shri Amritlal Vegad, Convener Shri Anil Madhav Dave and Shri Atul Jain were specially present on the occasion.

Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that rivers are worshipped in our countries. He said that preservation of rivers is not possible without community participation. People living on the shores of the river should take a pledge not to pollute it. At its level, the State Government is making efforts to keep all the rivers pollution-free. With the same objective, work of constructing 15 lakh toilets has been taken up under the Maryada Abhiyan in all the villages of the state. The Chief Minister said that due to felling of trees on the banks of rivers, water seeping through the trees is not flowing into rivers. Similarly, bio-organisms of rivers suffer damage due to increase in commercial activities on riverbanks. The Chief Minister urged villagers to plant large number of trees on riverbanks.
Sushri Uma Bharti said that our culture is inclusive. Rivers are our lifelines but we do not repay anything to rivers. Referring to Ganga Samagra Abhiyan, Sushri Bharti said that water treatment plants should be set up on riverbanks to prevent sewer water from falling into river. Sushri Uma Bharti said that mining should also be checked in rivers for uninterrupted flow of water in them.
Shri Amritlal Vegad said that generation of social awareness for maintaining natural balance is also one of the objectives of the Narmada Samagra Abhiyan. At the conclusion of the programme, Shri Vegad also presented mementoes to Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Sushri Uma Bharti.
Shri Anil Madhav Dave said that the theme of this year’s River Festival is “Our Rivers: Policies and Leadership”. Shri Dave said that efforts will be made to promote organic and natural farming during the next 10 years in the state under the Narmada Samagra Abhiyan. Public representatives, representatives of media and participations from various states and countries were present at the programme in a large number.