Crisis averted, NCA allows Gujarat to use Narmada dead water

The drinking water crisis, which Gujarat has been staring at, seems to have been averted. At its meeting in New Delhi on Friday, the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) allocated seepage and dead water of the Narmada to the state for drinking water requirements.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that with the NCA accepting the state government's proposal to allocate seepage and dead water to the state, there would not be any drinking water crisis in the state during the summer season.

"Over 10,000 villages and 167 towns, which are dependent on the Narmada to meet their water requirements, will not face any shortage of drinking water till July 31," the chief minister told reporters in Gandhinagar after the NCA decision.

These villages and towns are situated in north Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch, the water-parched areas that traditionally receive less rainfall than other regions of the state.

Reacting to Rupani's statement, leader of opposition Paresh Dhanani held the state government responsible for the water crisis.

"The government wasted the Narmada water for political gains in 2017. Farmers have had to suffer heavy financial losses. The BJP government must tell the people what it did with the water," Dhanani demanded.

The relief comes even as the state government has said there would be no water supply for irrigation from March 15, and has advised farmers dependent on the Narmada water for irrigation purposes not to sow any crops during summer. Monsoon traditionally hits the state in June, and if the same happens this year, there would not be any water crisis.