Farmers demand canal water ahead of paddy transplantation

Amritsar, June 6

With paddy transplantation in the district set to begin from June 10, farmers have demanded from the government to make canal water available to them for their irrigation needs. Though strengthening of canal water system has been underway for the last few years, nearly 70 per cent of the agricultural area is still without canal water supply.

In the absence of canal water, farmers are solely dependent on groundwater to irrigate their fields. For a water-guzzling crop like paddy, drawing groundwater means causing further depletion of the already depleted reserve.

In most areas of the district, the level of groundwater has gone down to the extent that farmers have to dig a 400 feet bore for the tube-wells. Rattan Singh Randhawa, a farmer leader, said, “We have been demanding that ample water should be given for the fields. We have also demanded that per acre quota of water should be increased to meet the demands of farmers during the paddy season.”

He added that canal irrigation system in most areas of the district is in shambles. The reasons for the poor irrigation system include government apathy, lack of upkeep, encroachment on channels and even free water supply.

“When the government supplied free power, the farmers turned to tube-wells as they did not have to wait for their turn of canal water. With the dependence of farmers on tube-wells increasing, the government too became lax in caring for the canal system. In the present times, when farmers seem to have learnt a lesson as digging deep tube-wells requires huge money, the government should also come forward,” said a farmer Gurnam Singh.

With nearly two lakh hectares of agricultural land in the district, 70 per cent farmers are solely dependent on groundwater. They stated that over-dependence on groundwater can be decreased if canal water is made available for the fields.