He kept off the media, meeting only the engineers at the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) and discussed the pending works.

He refused to be drawn into the political bickering between Gujarat and Congress-ruled Maharashtra over the delay in the dam work, and said: “Sardar Sarovar Dam rasthriya hit ki yojna hai. Isme deri nahi honi chahiye. (The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a scheme that benefits the country. There should be no delay in it).”

SSNNL Chief Executive Engineer K J Trivedi said the Amethi MP was quite positive in his approach towards the development of the dam.

“He (Rahul Gandhi) was very curious in learning about the dam. He showed a keen interest in knowing more about the canal network. He also quizzed us about the issues raised by the media,” said Trivedi.

He added: “We discussed about the pending work (1.5 lakh cubic metres) at the dam, and the environmental issues raised by the activists and the SSNNL strategies required to keep the Sardar Sarovar Dam in compliance with environmental norms. He heard our version related to environment issues.”

Later, Rahul interacted with tribal youths at Dediapada in Narmada district at a Youth Congress recruitment drive.

He was apprised how the Centre-funded National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana’ had lost momentum at the village level in Gujarat.

Rahul responded that it is the state government which should be responsible for the proper utilisation of the funds given for Central Government Schemes.

“The Congress is not in power in Gujarat. Therefore, it cannot and should not meddle with the state government administration. I am here to bring awareness among the youth. I am also here to show that Youth is power (Yuva Hi Shakti Hai),” said Rahul.

Jayesh Vasava, a tribal youth from Valia taluka of Bharuch district brought out the issue of JDU legislator Chhotu Vasava’s illegal encroachment on 800 acres of SSNNL land at Bharuch district, to which Rahul said that the issue comes under the jurisdiction of the state government.