PM Modi voices concern over condition of rivers in India

 Voicing concern over the condition of rivers in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said there are many which have no water.

"Many rivers in the country are on the map but do not have any water in them," Modi said at an event to mark the conclusion of 'Namami Devi Narmade Sewa Yatra' here in Madhya Pradesh's Annooppur district. Lauding the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government for taking up the campaign to conserve one of the country's major lifelines, Modi said the Narmada conservation roadmap prepared by the state is a "perfect document for future vision".

He asked the Madhya Pradesh government to share it with other states. "The document was sent to me in advance and I had gone through it. It has the details of what is to be done, by whom, and at what time. In my opinion, it is perfect document for future vision," he said. Congratulating people, and especially Chouhan, for launching the yatra that lasted nearly 150 days, the prime minister, who hails from Gujarat, said, "I, on behalf of people of Gujarat, for whom every drop of Narmada is important, Rajasthan and Maharashtra congratulate Madhya Pradesh for this great initiative."

Earlier, Modi performed puja at the point of origin of the river in Amarkantak. The Namami Devi Narmade Sewa Yatra, which was launched on December 11, 2016 from Amarkantak, concluded today after covering a distance of 3,344 km, traversing over 1,100 villages and towns.

The prime minister has evinced keen interest in the conservation campaign. "Narmada Seva Yatra is an excellent mass movement to protect the Narmada & conveys a larger message of saving the environment as well," Modi had tweeted yesterday.