Citing Sabarmati,Advani calls for inter-linking rivers

NDA working chairman L K Advani has again pitched strongly for inter-linking of rivers in the country,something that was projected as a flagship programme during the Atal Bihari...

NDA working chairman L K Advani has again pitched strongly for inter-linking of rivers in the country,something that was projected as a flagship programme during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA governments regime,when Advani was the deputy Prime Minister.

After unveiling the Ganga Sparsh Programme an initiative of Uttarakhands BJP government for keeping the river clean in the state along with a bevy of spiritual gurus at Rishikesh on Sunday,Advani,talking to The Indian Express,showered praise on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his drive to clean Sabarmati in the state,as also taking the waters of Sabarmati to the parched districts of Saurashtra and Kutch where the river is now considered more of a lifeline.

This Mahakumbh would be memorable after this collective pledge to keep the Ganga pollution-free,for it would inspire similar experiments elsewhere, said Advani,as he reiterated his call for inter-linking of rivers.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had talked about linking Ganga and Cauvery. It was the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance government that took up the project to interlink rivers in earnest,and a task force headed by Suresh Prabhu was put in place for the same, recalled Advani. After getting the consent of the states,it should be pursued again, said the BJP leader,lamenting that a change in the government had resulted in the idea getting abandoned.

Advani,who has often showcased the good governance model of Gujarat,said Modi had used the Sabarmati to bring about transformational changes in the state. I have seen the transformation that the Narendra Modi government has been able to effect in the state after the waters of Narmada were diverted to Sabarmati,and the river then proved to be a lifeline for the parched districts of Saurashtra and Kutch of the state, he said.

Advani,who represents Gandhinagar in the Lok Sabha,also said the Clean Sabarmati drive in Ahmedabad had set up an example for the rest of the country.