Gandhinagar, Aug 18 - The government should take up the project to link up major rivers across the country, as proposed during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule, to tackle the spectre of drought, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In a letter to the prime minister, Modi said the Gujarat government would need central funds for linking the Tapti and Damanganga rivers besides other small rivers in the state.

He said the river linking projects could help the central government fight the drought situation on a long-term basis across the country.

The river inter-linking project, proposed during the NDA rule, had been dropped by the Congress-led government even as the plan has faced criticism from activists.