Sonepat farmers protest in inundated fields

Enraged by the failure to drain rainwater from their fields, farmers from Badwasni, Bagru and Mehlana villages on Wednesday staged a protest in Barwasni village by standing in submerged fields.

The demonstration was led by zila parishad member Sanjay Badwasnia, who demanded the stagnant water be drained from the fields as a matter of urgency.

Badwasnia, who protested by swimming in the flooded fields, said the area had been submerged for several days due to recent rains, but neither the government nor the district administration had taken steps to remove the water. Farmers, he said, were being forced to manage the drainage themselves.

He alleged the Irrigation Department had only 25 pumps, most of which were non-functional. As a result, both farmers and the general public in the area were suffering due to official apathy, he claimed.

Farmers were reportedly spending hundreds of rupees from their own pockets to purchase diesel and electrical wiring for water drainage, in the absence of any assistance from the district administration, he added.

Hundreds of acres of farmland remain submerged in knee-deep water. Badwasnia said the next crop cycle may not be possible if drainage is not carried out in time, leaving farmers anxious about their livelihoods.

Badwasnia, along with Yashpal Bajana, accused the government of making empty claims about farmer welfare, while doing little on the ground to support them. They said farmers had already suffered heavy losses due to the rains and inaction by the authorities.

They also alleged no concrete arrangements had been made by officials to drain the water from the affected fields.

Badwasnia warned if the district administration fails to act promptly, a large-scale protest would be organised at the district magistrate’s office. He demanded farmers whose crops had been completely destroyed be given compensation of Rs 1 lakh per acre.

Those present during the protest included Hawa Singh, Sunil Bagru, Sunil Delu, Dharamveer, Satish Bagru, Ashish Bagru, Rambir, Devender Bagru, Azad Singh, Baljeet Singh, Suresh, Kuldeep, Rajveer, Rajesh and several others.