Irrigation Crisis During Peak Paddy Season Puts ‘Rice Bowl Of Kashmir’ At Stake
A severe irrigation crisis in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district during peak paddy transplantation is threatening rice cultivation on 20,000 hectares. Farmers blame water shortages, poor canal maintenance and illegal mining, while officials cite low river levels. Delayed restoration could significantly reduce paddy production and farmer incomes.
Kulgam: At a time when climate change and natural disasters are hitting farmers hard, severe irrigation crisis at the peak of paddy transplantation season in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, the ‘rice bowl’ of the valley has put farmers in dire straits.
More than 75 percent of the population of the Kashmir valley is directly or indirectly associated with agriculture, which sustains the livelihood of millions of families. In Kulgam, paddy is cultivated on about 20,000 hectares of land in the district with about 1.6 lakh metric tonnes of paddy produced annually. However, at a time when the paddy planting season is at its peak and which usually starts from the beginning of June and continues till June 21, several areas, especially the Home Shalibug and Batangas areas of south Kashmir, are facing severe water shortage. Farmers are also worried about water shortage in several other areas of neighbouring Anantnag district.
Alvi Ahmed Dar, a farmer from Batangas, told ETV Bharat that hundreds of kanals of agricultural land in his area are being affected due to the lack of water. He said that only a few days are left for the end of the paddy planting season, but farmers are in serious distress due to lack of water. According to him, the irrigation department has failed to ensure water supply and despite repeated reminders, no effective action has been taken.
Alvi alleged that canals were not cleaned on time and there was negligence in repairing irrigation pumps, the consequences of which farmers are suffering during peak transplantation season.
Haji Ghulam Muhammad Itu, a veteran farmer from the area, also questioned the performance of the irrigation department, saying that the department was taking steps akin to “digging a well during a fire”. He said that if the department was aware in advance that the water level in rivers and streams would decrease, it should have planned in advance. He further said that irrigation pumps installed at many places were proving ineffective and no significant benefit was being obtained from them in time.
Local farmer Muhammad Yousuf Dar blamed the illegal mining in the rivers and canals for the water shortage. According to him, the structure of the water bodies has been affected as a result of rampant mining and water is not reaching the upper areas. He demanded from the administration that strict action should be taken against illegal mining, safety dams be constructed and special attention be paid to the repair and rehabilitation of canals.
MLA Anantnag West, Abdul Majeed Larmi questioned the performance of the Irrigation Department on the irrigation crisis and said that the department should have made arrangements in advance. He said that after receiving public complaints, he contacted the concerned authorities, after which the department became active. The MLA hoped the water crisis faced by the farmers will be resolved soon.
Irrigation department officials attribute the irrigation crisis to the “unusual shortage of water in the rivers”. According to Riaz Ahmed, Executive Engineer Mechanical of the Irrigation Department, Kulgam, all the water pumps had already been activated, but the water level has gone down so much that the required amount of water is not reaching the intake channels of the pumps, due to which the pumps are unable to lift water.
He said that the department is constructing a temporary ring dam to improve water access to the pumps and restore the irrigation system. He also said that work is being done on a proposal to install an additional pump in Batanga for the next season.
Meanwhile, Civil Engineer Civil of the Irrigation Department, Kulgam, Faisal Ahmed claimed that the cleaning of the canals was done on time, however, at some places, the cleaning process was not carried out “on the request of the locals”. According to him, due to the significant decrease in water level in rivers and streams, there are difficulties in operating the pumps effectively. However, he assured that the staff and machinery of the department are fully mobilized and all possible steps are being taken to ensure water supply as per the available resources.
Farmers said that if water supply is not restored in the coming days, there may be a significant decrease in paddy production, which will not only weaken the economic condition of the farmers but also cause a serious setback to the agricultural sector of the valley.
They urged the concerned departments to take steps on an emergency basis to make the irrigation system effective so that the ‘Rice Bowl of Kashmir’ maintains its agricultural identity and productivity.
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Source : ETV Bharat
