Start water channel renovation from tail-end: Farmers

Hundreds of farmers, led by Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar, gathered at the Canal Colony here on Saturday to welcome the state government’s plan to renovate water channels. However, they strongly demanded that the construction work begin from the tail-end of the canal system to avoid variation in floor levels and ensure fair water distribution.

Jakhar recalled that in 1973, his grandfather Balram Jakhar, then Deputy Minister of Irrigation and Power, had drawn up a plan to construct pucca (paved) water courses with financial assistance of Rs 1 crore from the World Bank.

Experts had reported that nearly one-third of canal water was being lost due to seepage, as the existing system remained unpaved. He said the poor economic condition of farmers in villages bordering Rajasthan could be attributed to the lack of sufficient water during critical crop stages like sowing and ripening.

He further added that Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal had recently announced the government’s goal of achieving 100 per cent usage of canal and dam water by renovating canals and water courses. At present, 38 per cent of water is reportedly wasted. Several villages in the Abohar and Balluana areas have been identified for channel renovation under this initiative.

“The renovation will truly benefit farmers only if the work begins from tail-end villages. Timely and efficient implementation can help save orchards and key crops such as cotton and wheat,” Jakhar stated. On the occasion, the farmers submitted a memorandum to Executive Engineer (XEN) of the Canal Department, Vinod Kumar Suthar, urging immediate attention to their concerns. They also emphasised the urgent need to address the contamination of canal water in the Abohar subdivision.

Responding to the demands, XEN Suthar assured the farmers that the renovation work would be carried out with transparency and high quality. He added that effective measures would be taken soon to curb the inflow of contaminated water into the canal system.