Sardar Sarovar dam inauguration: Bad weather forces Modi's chopper to land in Dabhoi

The inauguration event in Narmada District will also be attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, BJP president Amit Shah, and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, among others.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was enroute Kevadia, Gujarat, to inaugurate Sardar Sarovar dam, was on Sunday forced to travel to Kevadia by road after unfavorable weather forced his helicopter to land in Dabhoi.

The inauguration event in Narmada District will also be attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, BJP president Amit Shah, and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, among others.

Modi will perform Narmada aarti before inaugurating the dam, which is the second biggest dam in the world after Grand Coulee Dam in the US. Singer Anuradha Paudwal has also been invited to sing devotional songs.

The foundation stone of the Sardar Sarovar Dam was laid by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on April 5, 1961.

After inaugurating the dam at Kevadia in Narmada district, the Prime Minister will later address a rally in Dabhoi to mark the end of the fortnight-long Narmada Mahotsav.

It is also PM Modi's birthday today. Modi's 67th birthday is being observed as 'Seva Divas,' by the BJP.

The project has been mired in several controversies ever since its foundation stone was laid on April 5, 1961 by the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), led by social activist Medha Patkar, has been protesting against the project, raising several environmental concerns.

OneIndia News