Here are the live updates of the Sardar Sarovar Dam inauguration:
The ardent fan of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel mentioned with great pride that the Statue of Unity will be a fitting tribute to the freedom fighter. "The Statue of Unity will be twice as high as US' Statue of Liberty," he said. The Prime Minister further said that people from all corners of the world will come and see the statue of unity and know the great contribution of Sardar Patel.
"World Bank tried to ensure India doesn't succeed in this project"
Prime Minister Modi said that World Bank had said it would not fund the project and had also alleged that it would ruin the environment. He added that the World Bank did all it could to ensure India cannot have such a mega project. "But India too had decided that World Bank or no World Bank, we will build the Mega Sardar Sarovar Dam with our blood and sweat. After the 2001 earthquake, when this project picked up pace and showed the world what India can truly do. The same World Bank had to eat humble pie, swallow its pride and was forced to give India's Sardar Sarovar Dam project the world's topmost environment-friendly project award," said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister said the Sardar Sarovar Dam faced so many obstacles before its completion but the government was determined that the project will go on. "71 years ago, before independence, before most of you and I were born, Sardar Patel had seen the dream and vision of Sardar Sarovar Dam. If work had been done, then the project would have been complete in the 1970s itself. People would not have had water problems. The land would have been so much more fertile," he said.
Sardar Sarovar Dam Project: Your 10-Point Guide To World's Second Biggest DamThe dam has earned over Rs. 16,000 crore -- more than double the cost of its construction, said a government spokesman. Each gate of the dam weighs over 450 tonnes and it takes one hour to close them.
Sardar Sarovar Dam is also the second biggest dam in the world after the Grand Coulee Dam in the United States. The 1.2-km-long dam, which is 163 metres deep has till date produced 4,141 crore units of electricity from its two power houses -- river bed powerhouse and canal head powerhouse -- with an installed capacity of 1,200 MW and 250 MW, respectively.
