End of a 40-yr wait

And now, with water abundant in the main canal, the SSNNL has filled up all major reservoirs along the canal route, opened gates of linking canals and diverted water into local networks. The result is for all to see: Narmada water is being distributed for drinking and irrigation in 145 of 222 talukas, five of the six municipal corporation areas and 15 of the 25 districts.

According to Narmada Project Executive Engineer Ashok Gajjar, between 8,500 and 9,000 cusecs of Narmada water — equivalent to Sabarmati river flowing a little less than halfway mark at Nehru Bridge — is spilling into the Narmada main canal. On Friday, the Irrigation Bypass Tunnel was flowing full.

SSNNL chairman Bhupendrasinh Chudasma says it’s for the first time that Narmada water has flowed 264 km in the main canal upto Kadi-Kalol ‘Y’ junction, more than half the length of 458 km-long Narmada Main Canal. From there, it splits and one branch goes towards Saurashtra while the canal goes towards North Gujarat and up to Rajasthan.

A network of linking canals of over 35,000 km takes the water into local taluka and village-level drinking water supply projects. The Narmada has also revived two large rivers — Mahi near Vadodara and Sabarmati in Ahmedabad.

The water has brought smiles back on the faces of farmers in Central Gujarat and parts of Saurashtra. At Kapadwanj, farmers near the main canal woke up to find water flowing. ‘‘If the water is there for another month, we can think of a third crop,’’ Punjabhai, a farmer said.

The branch canal is a lifeline for Saurashtra’s parched areas. ‘‘Since water does not flow from here by gravity, we pump it. People may not know but last year they were drinking water from the Kadana dam and this year it is Narmada water,’’ Narmada Water Resources and Supply secretary K. Kailashnathan said. About 50 per cent of Junagadh now receives Narmada water while Rajkot and Jamnagar are totally dependent on it.