Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], July 15 : Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel evaluated the progress of various tourism initiatives in the Dharoi Dam region of North Gujarat. This area is being developed as a premier sustainable tourism and pilgrimage destination. Throughout his visit, the Chief Minister offered direction on the advancement of these projects.
According to the release, the development project for the Dharoi Region is being executed in three distinct phases, with an estimated total investment of approximately Rs. 1,100 crore. This initiative encompasses a variety of spiritual, adventure, ecological, and recreational activities that are expected to enhance tourism and generate new employment opportunities within the local community. This approach aligns to promote the concept of "Vocal for Local."
Like various tourist destinations in Gujarat, Dharoi will also be developed as an 'iconic place'. Not only this, the state government is also working on future plans to develop a tourism circuit by developing tourist destinations and pilgrimage sites in North Gujarat, including Polo Forest, Taranga, Vadnagar, and Ambaji.
He visited Dharoi Dam to observe that 70.80 percent of new water has been added to Dharoi Dam this year due to the new water in the state's reservoirs. During his inspection visit to the dam site, the Chief Minister also held a high-level meeting on dam safety.
There are a total of 1124 reservoirs in the state, including Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam, 22 large, 96 medium, and 1006 small. Out of these reservoirs, the pre-monsoon inspection of 523 dams with a storage capacity of more than 1 MCM has been completed in May 2024 as per the guidelines of the National Dam Safety Authority, and all the dams are safe and secure, it was informed in this review meeting on dam safety.
The pre-monsoon inspection of 600 dams with a storage capacity of less than 1 MCM has also been completed, and a review was conducted to ensure that all those dams are at a safe stage.
The complete details of more than 25 reservoirs in the entire state being filled to 100 percent or more, 56 reservoirs 70 to 100 percent, 43 reservoirs 50 to 70%, 42 reservoirs 25 to 30 percent, and 40 reservoirs less than 25 percent were presented in this meeting.
During the review of the safety of the state's largest dam, Sardar Sarovar Dam, it was informed that the water level and rainfall information from the upstream area of Sardar Sarovar Dam is regularly shared through WhatsApp, e-mail, and Google Sheets, and coordination is maintained between the concerned states. Sardar Sarovar Dam currently has 4889 million cubic meters of water.
The Chief Minister reviewed the ongoing work of this entire tourism development project of Dharoi with Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi, Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister MK Das, Advisor SS Rathore, Chairman and MD of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Mukesh Puri, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Avantika Singh, Tourism Secretary Dr Rajendra Kumar, Water Resources Secretary PC Vyas, MD of Tourism Corporation Prabhav Joshi inspected the entire project and made a motivating suggestion to increase the green cover in the area around Dharoi reservoir.
MP Haribhai Patel, Patan Lok Sabha MP Bharatsinh Dabhi, Rajya Sabha MP Mayankbhai Nayak, Mehsana MLA Mukeshbhai Patel, Kheralu MLA Sardarbhai Chaudhary, senior officials of the Water Resources Department, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam, and the Tourism Department, and other relevant departments were present at meeting.