Fazilka farmers protest canal water scarcity

Farmers of the Kallar Khera area here staged a protest by beating drums to highlight the acute shortage of canal water in tail-end villages.

They alleged that despite repeated claims by the government that adequate canal water is being supplied to tail-end areas, the ground reality tells a different story.

The protest was led by Bharatiya Kisan Union block president Mahinder Kumar, who claimed that only about one-fourth of the required water was currently flowing through the canals.

As part of the protest, farmers marched along the canal while beating drums and even entered the canal to demonstrate the low water level.

The protesters alleged that standing crops were suffering due to the inadequate supply of canal water, while orchards had also started drying up, causing financial losses to farmers.

They further said farmers had already suffered losses during the recent closure of canals for desilting and cleaning works. However, even after the completion of the exercise, sufficient water has not been supplied to the tail-end villages.

When contacted, executive engineer (Canals) Sukhjit Singh said water had already been released from the upstream areas. He claimed that the water would reach the tail-end villages by Monday morning. — OC