Water scarcity: M’garh farmers fear losing crops

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Mahendragarh, January 2

The fear of rabi crops drying due to inadequate supply of irrigation water looms in Bhungarka, Shimli, Akbarpur, Sirohi-Bahali and Nangal Kalia villages of the Nangal Choudhary region here. Farmers of these villages say sufficient canal water was available when they cultivated mustard, gram and wheat crops but water scarcity these days could ruin them.

“Our crops are on the verge of getting damaged as we are not getting adequate canal water for the past over a month. We have submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to the Deputy Commissioner, urging him to redress their grievance. We will be compelled to launch an agitation if sufficient water for irrigation is not made available soon,” says Manpal Yadav, a farmer.

Sources say as Nangal Choudhary has been declared a dark zone due to the depleting water table in the region, farmers here are fully dependent on canal water for irrigating their fields. Moreover, installation of a tube well is banned here.

Sanjay Yadav, SDO (Agriculture), Narnaul, says mustard and gram crops are in the flowering phase nowadays and need another round of irrigation while wheat crop fields are watered at a regular interval of at least three weeks.

Meanwhile, Abhay Singh Yadav, BJP legislator from Nangal Choudhary, has urged Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to make water available in the district to protect rabi crops from drying. “I have apprised the Chief Minister on the phone about the scarcity of irrigation water for rabi crops in the district. Farmers were glad to get adequate canal water for cultivating crops in October and November but they are now worried that their crops will get damaged if they are not irrigated again soon,” says Yadav, adding that farmers will suffer heavy financial losses in case of crop loss.

SK Yadav, Superintendent Engineer (Irrigation), Narnaul, says adequate water is being supplied to villages from the Nawalpur distributary. “Only some villages located at the tail-end are not getting canal water but we are making efforts to ensure canal water reaches there,” he adds.