Muktsar farmers oppose Rs 2,300-cr Malwa canal project over waterlogging worries

The go-ahead to the Rs 2,300 crore Malwa canal project has stoked worries among farmers, who gave representations to land acquisition officers against the initiative, saying it will worsen the waterlogging problem.

Officials, however, rejected apprehensions expressed by farmers, saying the canal will be constructed using the latest technology to prevent seepage. The land acquisition for the 149-km-long project had started recently, with the state government terming it a game-changer for farmers in Muktsar, Ferozepur and Faridkot districts.

The canal will have water carrying capacity of 2,000 cusecs. It will help irrigate nearly 2 lakh acres.The canal will originate at Harike headworks on the Sutlej.

However, local farmers sounded an alert over the project, saying it would worsen the waterlogging problem in the area. Canals generally cause the problem through seepage from canal beds, raising water table in nearby lands.

This, combined with excessive irrigation and inadequate drainage, saturates the soil and brings the water table so close to the surface that it makes farming challenging.

Harinder Singh, president of the Lift Pump Committees’ Association in Punjab, said the Sirhind Feeder and Rajasthan Feeder already caused massive waterlogging due to seepage. “Now, this new canal will only aggravate the problem. For decades, the fields here have battled slow death caused by stagnant water, crops withering, soil turning saline and houses standing on damp foundations,” he said.

The Sirhind Feeder presently irrigates land only on one side. Farmers on the other side lift water using lift pumps installed along the canal, and they fear these systems will now be rendered useless once the new canal is built.

“More than 300 water lift pumps have been installed by farmers on their own and with some financial aid from the state to take water to higher fields. We have laid pipelines for several kilometres to get water to our land. All of that will go waste,” said Sukhraj Singh, a farmer.

Farmers have written to the SDMs, who have been appointed land acquisition collectors, urging them to halt the project. Ramanpreet Singh Mann, Executive Engineer, Malwa Canal, said, “The canal will be constructed using the latest technology to prevent seepage. Wherever water lifting is required, lifting pumps will be installed, while in other areas, water will be supplied through its natural flow.”

“The apprehensions of farmers were addressed during the socio-impact survey,” he said.

Meanwhile, a senior officer in the state government said some people were opposing the project for “political reasons”.