Bhopal: Asserting that there is an urgent need to save river Narmada, which is considered as the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, senior BJP leader Anil Dave said the issue should be addressed in totality before arriving at any decision.

"The catchment area (forests and mountains) of river Narmada is reducing at a faster rate (nearly 35 percent) due to dwindling forests, resulting in substantial decrease in its water level," the State BJP Vice President, Anil Dave told reporters here today after the launch of "Narmada Samagra Vision 2047".

Avoiding a direct reply on the issue of construction of big dams on Narmada, he said that there is a need to debate the viability of large dams being constructed on the river and after arriving at a definite conslusion on the issue only, could a final decision should be taken in the matter.

"Experts must debate this issue thoroughly by taking into account the experience of earlier projects and whether they proved to be as beneficial as it was thought of," Dave, who had traversed the river twice (aerially as well as on raft) said.

He admitted that due to the construction of several dams and their backwaters the total area of the river has increased by nearly 450 kms affecting the natural course of the river.

Besides, he also said that there is an urgent need to plug the waste of the citites like Jabalpur and Hoshangabad among others being dumped into the river in large quantity to ensure cleanliness of the river water.

Dave also stressed on conserving forests, catchment area, raising awareness about the river among students, debate on mining in the area and developing faciltities for those who traverse the river on foot among others. 

Source : PTI