What farmers want: dams, flood water harvesting, better drainage system on highways

Sixteen farmer unions, including eight from Punjab, four from Haryana, and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, have given a call for a tractor march to Chandigarh for Tuesday.

A farmer leader from Haryana’s Karnal, Jagdeep Singh Aulakh, said: “Compensation in lieu of damaged crops is a short term solution. The government must think of long term solutions now. In Haryana this time, different rivers —Yamuna, Ghaggar, Tangari and Makanda —have caused floods in several parts of the state. Why is the government not taking this issue seriously? Apart from dams, the government should also make efforts to widen the rivers. For this, the affected farmers may be given compensation. Cleaning of these rivers is also equally important.”

This year in Haryana, districts like Ambala and Kurukshetra, faced major losses because of floods but districts like Hisar and Jind are facing a drought-like situation, he said. “Had the government made dams to store the water coming from Himachal Pradesh, not only the floods could have been prevented but remote districts would not have faced drought like situation too,” Aulakh added.

Echoing similar sentiments, a farmer leader from Fatehabad, Mandeep Nathwan said, “In Fatehabad district, there was not much rain. But still Ratia and Tohana faced floods because of the overflowing Ghaggar river. Despite warnings by our organisation, timely efforts were not made to check the possible flooding by the river. Ultimately, several areas were drowned”.

Aulakh also urged the government to support the farmers economically to encourage them to install pipes in low lying areas so that the flood water could be harvested. “It will not only solve the problem of floods but also help in improving the water table in the long run. Some resourceful farmers have already executed this method on their own in Karnal district. But such practice should be done at large scale,” added the farm union leader.

A farmer leader from Hisar, Suresh Koth said that construction of highways in an unscientific way too has led to floods in several parts of Haryana. “These highways have blocked the natural flow of rain water leading to floods in the surrounding villages. There are not sufficient provisions for water to drain out. The government must look into this aspect. It should also be inquired as to how the no objection certificates (NOC) were issued for construction of such highways without caring for flow of the rainy water,” Koth said.

A senior official said that the Haryana government has already planned a dam near Hathnikund Barrage of Yamunanagar district to prevent a repeat of July floods caused by Yamuna river in Delhi and in adjoining areas of the river in Haryana. This dam — with a 14-km-long reservoir — will cost Rs 6,134 crore. Once the project is completed, the officials say, the state would have a Rs 497 crore financial advantage via availability of additional irrigation water, groundwater recharge and aquaculture, apart from generation of 250 MW electricity.

The state officials expect the reservoir water to irrigate nearly 2.24 lakh acres in Haryana and other states during rabi crop season (October-December). Even during the kharif crop season (June-October), they expect the stored water to irrigate an additional 1.27 lakh acres of land.