JAMMU, Jun 26: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Kisan Congress Chairman Bharat Priye on Friday led a strong protest against the Irrigation Department’s recent advisory asking farmers to conserve irrigation water due to the declining water level in the Chenab River. Calling the advisory “one-sided and unjust,” he said the department must first fulfill its own responsibilities before shifting the burden onto farmers.
Addressing protesting farmers, Bharat Priye said the advisory has created widespread concern among cultivators in R.S. Pura, Bishnah, Samba, Hiranagar, Ramgarh and other agricultural belts dependent on Chenab canal water for irrigation. He said thousands of farming families receiving water through the Ranbir Canal, Paragwal Canal and New Pratap Canal are already anxious as the paddy transplantation season is at its peak.
Referring to the Irrigation Sub-Division, Akhnoor advisory, Priye said the Chenab River’s water level has reportedly fallen to around 10-13 feet, compared to the normal 25-30 feet during June, raising fears of water scarcity if adequate rainfall does not occur.
While appealing to farmers to use irrigation water judiciously and cooperate in following the warabandi (scheduled water distribution) system, Priye asserted that the Irrigation Department cannot escape responsibility for years of negligence in maintaining the canal network.”It is unfair to ask farmers alone to bear the consequences of water scarcity when the department has failed to carry out timely desilting, cleaning and maintenance of canals, distributaries and minors,” he said.
Priye alleged that despite crores of rupees being allocated every year for canal maintenance and cleaning, many canals, minors and water channels remain choked with silt, weeds, plastic waste, bottles and other debris, resulting in enormous water losses before the water reaches tail-end farmers.He said large stretches of the canal network from Ramgarh to Khour are in poor condition. Canal banks have weakened, numerous watercourses have narrowed due to encroachments, illegal structures, shops, kiosks and even residential buildings have come up along canal banks, while several culverts remain blocked because of official neglect.
The Congress leader questioned how public funds meant for canal maintenance are being utilized when, according to local farmers, many canals and distributaries have not been properly cleaned for the last seven to eight years.”Senior irrigation officers rarely conduct field inspections. Instead of issuing advisories to farmers, the department should ensure regular desilting, repair damaged canal banks, remove encroachments and plug leakages so that every drop of available water reaches the fields efficiently,” he said.
Priye emphasized that farmers cannot indefinitely postpone sowing or transplantation because every crop has a fixed agricultural calendar. Any delay, he warned, would directly affect crop productivity and farmers’ incomes. He also pointed out that the rapidly declining groundwater table has reduced the effectiveness of tube wells and electric pumps, making canal irrigation even more critical.He maintained that even with reduced discharge in the Chenab River, scientific water management, efficient canal maintenance and strict action against encroachments could substantially improve water distribution and ensure adequate supply to tail-end villages.
Bharat Priye urged the government to immediately launch a comprehensive drive to clean all canals, distributaries, minors and khuls, remove illegal encroachments, repair damaged infrastructure and ensure continuous monitoring of the irrigation network during the ongoing paddy season.
Expressing hope that rainfall in the coming days would improve the Chenab’s water level and enhance irrigation supplies, he appealed to farmers to avoid wastage of water and adhere to the irrigation schedule. At the same time, he called upon the Irrigation Department to accept its responsibility and work proactively to ensure that irrigation water reaches every farmer without unnecessary losses.”The farming community is ready to cooperate, but the government departments must also discharge their duties with sincerity and accountability. Farmers should not be made scapegoats for administrative failures,” Priye asserted.