To meet the increased demand of people of Saurashtra for water and power owing to delayed rain after initial spells, the Gujarat government has decided to provide additional Narmada water and agriculture power for 10 hours for 11 districts of the Saurashtra region. A decision in this regard was taken in the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The decision has been taken considering representations made by people of Saurashtra region, an official release, quoting spokesperson of the government and senior minister Rushikesh Patel, said. The release stated that the excess Narmada water will be provided through SAUNI Yojana (Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation Yojana) of the state government. Similarly, the 11 districts of Saurashtra, which get power supply for agriculture purposes for eight hours, will be getting the same for 10 hours. The 11 districts of Saurashtra include Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surendranagar, Morbi, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Junagadh and Gir Somnath. The release also stated that a similar situation is prevailing in some parts of north Gujarat and if the people of the region demand, the government will provide them Narmada water through Sujalam Suflam Yojana considering the available stock of water.
