President Kovind Lays Foundation Stone For Link-4 Of Modi’s Irrigation Scheme In Rajkot

President of India Ram Nath Kovind yesterday (4 September) laid the foundation stone for the Link 4, Phase Two of the Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation Yojana (SAUNI) in Rajkot.

Conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as chief minister of Gujarat, the project entails laying 1,100 km of water pipelines underground at a cost of Rs 12,166 crore, transporting water from the Narmada river to 115 dams in the Saurashtra peninsula, irrigating about 4.13 lakh hectares (ha) land, thus helping lakhs of farmers who suffer from frequent droughts .

Link 1 of the project, which will supply water to about 30 dams and connect Morbi and Dwaraka districts was commissioned in August last year.

Link two will connect Surendranagar district to Amreli district, and will be supplying water to 17 dams. Link 3 will also take water from Surendranagar and transport it to Rajkot district, supplying water to 28 dams.

The President laid the foundation stone for Link 4 of the project that will connect Limdi Bhogavo II dam to southernmost Gir Somnth district transporting water to dams along the way.

Apart from Narmada, floodwaters of Mahi and Sabarmati rivers can also be channeled to supply the water to SAUNI network.