Narmada dam nearby,water still a far cry

In Goragam and Pipariya villages,also situated near the Narmada dam site in Nandod taluka, a vast expanse of agricultural land remains uncultivated for most part of the year due to unavailability of water for irrigation.

“The canal that runs through the land remains dry,so we have to depend on monsoon for irrigation. This means,we can grow only maize,tur,jowar and bajra for two-and-a-half-month in a year. For rest of the year,the land remains empty,” says Arvind Kalidas,who owns four acres land in Pipariya village,close to the dam site.

Situation is no different for one Jayantibhai Tadvi,whose family was relocated to Mokhri village due to submergence of his native village due to the dam project. Women in his family have to travel four kilometres every day to fetch drinking water after digging a river bed. “Water supplied to the village comes once in 2-3 days,and that too in fits and starts,making it hard for us to rely on it for our daily need,” Tadvi says.

Ironic as it may sound,villages surrounding the Narmada dam project site that provides drinking water to 29 million people and irrigation to one million farmer (according to Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited website) have to face water crisis,be it for drinking or irrigating their land.

Authorities,however,insist water woes for the villagers living in the vicinity of the Narmada dam would be over with the launch of a Rs 25-crore Narmada No-Source Regional Water Supply Scheme wherein water from Narmada canal is filtered and then supplied to as many as 93 villages in Narmada district.

The project was implemented last month,but so far it has been able to supply water to only 18 villages.

“We have put in place supply network for all 93 villages but electricity is a problem in most of them. Water supplied through underground channel has to be lifted to tanks situated in individual villages,from where they are to be supplied. This is not possible due to short supply of electricity,” said an engineer associated with the project.

Narmada District Development Officer Janu Devan insisted that with a slew of government projects aimed at providing drinking and irrigating water to tribal villages in the district,especially in Nandod and Tilakwada talukas,there is less likelihood that villages will encounter problem. “Some villages may be having water-related problems,but most hamlets in the area are covered under one scheme or the other,specially addressing their water-related problems,” Devan said.

“Villages located in Narmada upstream (towards the dam) may be facing water problems,especially regarding irrigation,but we are giving them bore motor… villagers dig wells under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme,so there is no acute water problem as such,” he added.