Soil erosion, another downside of floods in Yamunanagar

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Yamunanagar, June 24

Floods in the 70-km stretch of Yamuna that passes through this district wreak havoc in more than 50 villages. The result is land has become infertile because of soil erosion. Farmers say 20 villages, including Bhogpur, Odhri, Lapra, Kamalpur Tapu, Jathlana, Karera, Dikha, Unheri, Dhakwala, Majri, Nakumbh, Nagla, Nagli, Lal Chhappar, Baagwali, Sandhala, Sandhali and Ghumthala, are the worst affected.

In other villages, water submerges fields and damage crops. “The floods have caused soil erosion in 12 acres of my land in 10 years,” Bhupinder Singh Chauhan of Lal Chhappar village says and adds the government should come up with a policy to find a permanent solution to farmers’ problems.

Like Chauhan’s family, there are hundreds of people whose land has become infertile because of soil erosion.

Arun Kumar of Majri village, who lost 20 acres because of the same reason, says: “I am a farmer only on paper. I have been rendered landless because floods in Yamuna have damaged my land, forcing me to take up non-agricultural works.”

Farmers say soil erosion has forced hundreds of farmers into debt. They demand the state government should give them royalty rights of sand mining so they can earn their livelihood.

“Sand filled in my 10 acres in the 2013 floods. Now, I am under debt of Rs 10 lakh. But I have no source to pay it off,” says Shiv Kumar of Sandhala village. Rajesh Chopra, Executive Engineer, Irrigation, claims: “The department constructs studs and bunds as per requirement every year. Nearly 50 studs and bunds were constructed in several villages last year. Work is in progress on flood-protection works this year as well.”