Narendra Modi Birthday Highlights: PM Celebrates 69th Birthday In Homeland Gujarat
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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned 69 today, visited the site of the Gujarat's Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river whose water level has reached its highest mark for the first time to celebrate the feat and kick off "Namami Narmade" festival. For the first time since the height of the dam was raised in 2017, the water level reached its highest peak at 138.68 metres on Sunday evening. The dam was inaugurated by PM Modi on September 17, 2017.
Before leaving for Kevadiya from Gandhinagar today, the PM visited his nonagenarian mother, Hiraba, in Raisan village near the state capital to seek her blessings.
The prime minister landed at Ahmedabad airport on Monday night. Prime Minister visited the dam site at Kevadiya in Narmada district on his 69th birthday on Tuesday morning to attend the "Namami Narmade Mahotsava" to celebrate the water level milestone.
Narmada district collector, IK Patel was quoted as saying that after visiting the dam site at Kevadiya, the prime minister would address a gathering. "We are erecting a large dome structure to accommodate around 10,000 people for the event who would come from Narmada, Bharuch and Chhotaudepur districts," he said. After his address, the PM inspected some ongoing developmental projects near the dam and the Statue of Unity.
Watch | PM Modi turns 69, know his schedule for the day
The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest such structure in the name of the country's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Before leaving the site, the prime minister visited the temple of Lord Dattatreya at Garudeshwar village near Kevadiya.
The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) had in 2014 granted the permission to raise the height of the mega dam to 138.68 metres from 121.92 metres. The dam aims to provide drinking water to 131 urban centres and 9,633 villages (53 per cent of total 18,144 villages in Gujarat) and irrigation facilities for 18.54 hectares of land, covering 3,112 villages in 15 districts.
The government had said the "Namami Devi Narmade Mahotsava" event will be held across the state while the main event was scheduled at Kevadiya.
Famous folk artists and singers from the Gujarat film industry participated in public celebrations in various cities on Tuesday to mark the occasion. Senior BJP MLAs joined the celebrations at the district level.
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