The project will provide drinking water to nearly 44 lakh people in 10 districts of Madhya Pradesh
PM Narendra Modi with Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav (right) during the foundation stone laying ceremony. Pic/PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa river linking project in Madhya Pradesh.
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Speaking at the program at Khajuraho, Modi said that in the 21st century, only the nations with adequate and well-managed water resources can advance.
“The major challenge of the 21st century is water security. In the 21st century only those countries who have adequate water resources with proper management will move forward,” he said.
The PM on this occasion also inaugurated the Omkareshwar Floating Solar Project in Khandwa district of the state virtually, and laid the foundation stone of the Daudhan Irrigation Project, part of the river-linking project.
Union Water Resources Minister C R Patil and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav handed over two kalash (urns) containing water from Betwa and Ken rivers, respectively, to Modi, who poured it over a model of the project to launch the river linking work.
The Ken-Betwa river linking will open new doors of prosperity and happiness in the Bundelkhand region, said the PM.
The project will provide drinking water to nearly 44 lakh people in 10 districts of MP and 21 lakh people in UP. The estimated cost of the project will be R44,605 crore.
Project a threat to Panna Tiger Reserve
The Ken-Betwa river linking project poses a serious threat to the biodiversity-rich Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. He claimed that the project will submerge over 10 per cent of the core area of the tiger reserve.
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