BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister has directed officials to ensure that meat and liquor are not consumed in religious towns situated on the banks of river Narmada across the state.There are 430 ancient Shiva temples, two shakti peeths situated on the banks of the holy river that flows through 1079 km of Madhya Pradesh, after originating from Amarkantak in Anuppur district in eastern part of the state.During its course, the river (which is considered the central Indian state’s lifeline) covers 21 districts, 68 tehsils, 1138 villages and 1126 ghats in the state.Detailing on Saturday about the decisions taken at the first meeting of the cabinet committee on integrated development of river Narmada to ensure its purity and uninterrupted flow, the CM said that Amarkantak, the place from where the sacred river originates should be managed through a dedicated Amarkantak Development Authority. He added that top priority to environmental protection should be given.”For future settlements, satellite cities should be developed by identifying land away from the origin of the river and it should be ensured that throughout the course of the sacred river, sewage from any settlement should not be allowed to flow into the river,” he said.The CM also directed to ban machine-based mining activities in river Narmada.At the first meeting of the cabinet committee on integrated development of river Narmada, the CM also directed to prepare an action plan for upgrading Mamleshwar Temple located at Omkareshwar, for which discussions should be held with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).At the meeting, the CM also said that by identifying the expanse on both sides of the river Narmada through a GIS and Drone survey, a plan should be prepared in a coordinated manner for the conservation of those areas.With river Narmada being the only river in the world that is circumambulated by devotees through the Narmada Parikrama Yatra, the entire Parikrama in the state should be developed as a major religious and cultural tourism activity.
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