Raghbir Singh Brar
Faridkot
Email:raghbirsinghbrar@gmail.com
The Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had promised the farmers that they would get regular power supply and canal water from June 1, while the power supply is more than 8 hours now leading to further depletion of sub soil water,but canal water is playing truant.
“The water in Jaitu Rajbaha was released on June 5,it flowed to 100 per cent capacity only for two days and then water in the Rajbaha reduced to less than 50 percent,” said Sukhjinder Singh Brar, a farmer from village Niamiwala of the district.
Rajbaha Jaitu supplies irrigation water to dozens of the villages of Jaitu constituency.
“The Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had announced that canal water would be supplied to the districts under this zone from June 1. But water was released on June 5 and then it only flowed for two days. Then it went down below 50 per cent. I want to ask the chief minsiter where our canal water has gone?He had made tall claims that he had saved much water from being released to Haryana from BBMB,but why it has not come to the farmers,” said Darshan Singh Dhilwan, Jaitu Halqa Incharge of the congress party.
“The water in Rajbaha Kotkapura was released on June 5, it flowed just for two days and then it came down to less than 50 percent capacity,playing truant,” said Amardeep Singh, a farmer from village Wara daraka of Faridkot.
Amardeep’s claim was stunning against the government claims of the regular canal water supply to the tail end.
“We got water in the Rajbaha after about 5-6 months.Earlier, it had just on and off small flow to feed the drinking water facilities. They said that the work on Abohar Branch canal to do pucca was going on and so the water in Rajbaha could not be released,” said Amardeep Singh.
The water in Rajbaha Faridkot was released only on June 6,then its flow was reduced to less than 50 per cent and on June 8,it was completely dry. For two days, most of its flow was diverted into the Devi wala link drain.
Rajbaha Faridkot also supplies canal water to thousands of the farmers of more than two dozen villages.It also supplies drinking water to Faridkot town as well.
As allowed by the state government,Faridkot district could start paddy transplantation from June 1 while by June 8, there is no satisfactory canal water supply to most of the areas.
The Abohar canal which feeds all these Rajbahas also flows much less than its capacity today.
The situation in some Ferozepur villages is also worse.
“Dear chief minsiter, We have to request you,I am standing in the area of Zira Tehsil of district Ferozpur in Hardassa village. Around me there are many villages like ChajjanWalai,Bhangali, Malle shah and others. You said that you would make canal water reach to the tail ends. Now we are standing along this Rajbaha and it is badly choked. No water is there and over dozens of villages are waiting for the canal water in it,” said Roman Brar from village Mahinan Wala of Ferozepur who is spearheading the campaign against a distillery under the banner of Sanjha Morcha Zira.
“The paddy transplantation has begun from June in Ferozepur but out water distributory is lying dry.
He said that this Rajbaha originates from Sirhind canal and irrigates about 15 to 20 villages ending in Bhangali.He claimed that the farmers had invited him to raise this issue.
He said that the cause of the non release of the water may be it is not cleaned.
First of all, the government’s move to prepone the paddy transplantation by 15 days led to the coming back of banned varieties and secondly, in absence of canal water, the subsoil water would go down sharply as the state has about 14 lakh tubewell connections which pump out water for the paddy season.
The chief minister had himself said that the Punjab, during paddy season, consumes about three dams of Bhakra dams quantity which is alarming for the state.
