Another breach in Markanda at Pehowa; hundreds of acres flooded

A breach in the Markanda river at Naisi village in Pehowa left hundreds of acres of agricultural fields flooded on Wednesday. While paddy farmers of nearly 16 villages from Shahabad block were already staring at losses due to the river waters, the breach at Naisi has increased their troubles.

Last month, about 500-700 acres of Naisi and adjoining villages were submerged due to a breach in the river.

As per information, a breach occurred near Naisi village early in the day, following which the residents of Naisi and adjoining villages, with the help of a local gurdwara, started efforts to plug the breach. Officials from the irrigation department also reached the spot.

Jagtar Singh, a farmer, said “Even in July, there was a breach in the river and hundreds of acres of paddy crop were destroyed. Re-plantation was done, but again the fields have been submerged.”

Residents of Jandheri village, led by the sarpanch, also turned up to plug the breach. Over 200 acres have already been affected and efforts are being made to save the crops.

JJP leader Jaswinder Khehra, who reached the spot, said the farmers had been facing continuous losses due to the river. The government should compensate them and find a permanent solution, he said.

Mahabir Prasad, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra, said, “All the manpower and machinery have been deployed at the site to plug the breach. With the help of local residents, the situation has been controlled. Directions have been issued to the irrigation department to find a permanent solution to this issue.”

In Shahabad, as per a tentative report of the agriculture department, over 3,600 acres in 16 villages of Shahabad block have been affected. Kalsana, Tangore, Kathwa, Patti Jhamra, Malikpur, Mughal Majra and Gumti are the worst affected.

Amrinder Singh, former sarpanch of Kathwa, said, “The village is along the Markanda and every year we face losses due to the heavy flow of water. Water starts flowing through the fields and even village roads remain submerged. We have requested the government to get a bundh constructed along the village to protect the crops, but there has been no positive response so far. The residents are forced to use tractor-trailers for travelling.”

Hardeep Rana, a farmer, said, “I had sown paddy in nearly 45 acres, but the water has been flowing continuously over the past several days and the crop is submerged.”

“The government should order a girdawari and announce a compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre for their losses. The government should also provide some relief to farm labourers of the area,” said Rakesh Bains, spokesman of BKU (Charuni).

Deputy Director Agriculture Karamchand said, “The river water is still flowing through the agricultural fields and we have to wait for the water to recede to assess the loss.”