Chief Minister of the of Gujarat Narendra Modi [Images] sits with Hindu priests as he starts a 51 hour 'fast' in Ahmedabad [Images], on April 16.   

After taking blessings of several religious leaders Modi began his fast to protest the central government's stand on the Sardar Sarovar dam height issue.

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Project advocates say raising the Sardar Sarovar dam's height by 12 metres (39 feet) will provide much-needed water and electricity, but critics say increasing the height of the dam will displace even more people and submerge farmland.

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According to the United Nations, more than additional 24,000 families in 177 villages of Madhya Pradesh [Images] would be displaced if the height of the dam is increased to 122 metres. The Supreme Court ruling six years ago bans any fresh construction at the Sardar Sarovar site until the displaced villagers are adequately resettled. 

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Photograph: Strdel/AFP/Getty Images