Water woes worsen as supply to Sirhind Feeder closed

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 2

A three-week closure of the Sirhind and Rajasthan Feeder canals has not only exposed a large area of southwest districts of Punjab to drinking and irrigation water crisis but also laid bare the risk posed by dilapidated canals.

The water supply to the two canals was stopped on March 26 for the repair work at the Harike Barrage. The water supply will remain closed till April 20.

Facing the shortage of water supply for reservoirs and waterworks to further supply it to households, the Water Supply and Sanitation Department (WSSD) in this area has asked people to be economical with the use of water.

KS Dhanju, Superintending Engineer, WSSD, Faridkot, said as there was shortage of water after the temporary closure of the Sirhind Feeder, the residents had been urged to restrict the use of drinking water.

Faridkot needs about 1.30 crore litres of water daily for normal supply. The groundwater in this area has high fluoride content and hence, it cannot be used for washing and drinking purposes.

The closure of water supply has rendered the canals dry, revealing the poor condition of their banks. The relining of 97 km of the Rajasthan Feeder and 100 km of the Sirhind Feeder is pending for the last over seven years. After the Centre’s approval, a tender was floated on September 23, 2011, for completion of the relining work in four years, but the work never started.

The Rajasthan Feeder and Sirhind Feeder are two parallel channels off-taking upstream of the Harike Headworks. The Rajasthan Feeder runs through Punjab as a carrier channel to feed the canal system in Rajasthan. The Sirhind Feeder runs through the state to feed command area in Punjab and Rajasthan.