Canal breaches flood 250-acre paddy fields

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 16

With rainwater flowing into the Sirsa-Habri canal, three breaches occurred in Nigdhu village on Tuesday, resulting in flooding of around 250-acre paddy fields. Efforts to fill the breaches were underway till the filing of this report.

A farmer noticed a breach of between four and five feet and sounded the alarm. Farmers reached the spot. Breaches occurred at two more places.

Anil Kumar, naib tehsildar, along with the police, patwari and Irrigation Department JE, reached the spot. They started work on filling the breaches with the help of a JCB machine and labour.

The naib tehsildar said one breach measured around 10 feet, another 15 feet and the third around 30 feet, submerging the fields.

As per farmers, repair work of the canal was going on near Budhera village till Sunday and water was released on Monday.

They demanded compensation for the loss suffered due to the breaches. “Farmers in the vicinity have suffered major losses due to flooding and the authorities should give compensation,” said Amit Kumar, a farmer from Nigdhu village.

The naib tehsildar said the Irrigation Department had stopped water flow and started filling work. “Water from the fields has receded and we will assess the loss on Wednesday,” he said.