Farmers in Pune’s Indapur village say Nira-Bhima project’s tunnels worsened water scarcity

Similarly, Rahul Narute of Kazad has 10 acres of land and yet that doesn’t translate to a large amount of produce as water supply is enough for only 25 to 30 per cent of his farmland.

This is the story of most of the farmers in Kazad, Akole, Shindewadi villages of Indapur. “The last time the village saw a good rainfall was in 2019, when Sangli district of the state was flooded. Apart from that, the regular rainfall on most years is not enough to sustain and produce a good harvest,” said Pandhare.

This year, with wells already dry in November, farmers do not have the answer to how they will manage their crops till the next monsoon.

These drought-stricken farmers allege that their water woes have heightened due to the construction of a tunnel as part of the Nira-Bhima stabilisation project.

On November 22, two farmers, Anil Narute (32), and Ratilal Narute (52), lost their lives trying to fetch water from a 275 feet tunnel of the Nira-Bhima project, when their crane crashed midway.

Ajit Patil, former sarpanch of Kazad said, “The water in our wells used to last longer earlier. The situation right now seems like only the beginning of our problems. The depth of the Nira-Bhima tunnel is nearly 300 feet, which is way more than our 50 to 60 feet wells. So, all the water flows and accumulates there.”

Hence in recent years farmers invested money in installing motors in these tunnels, instead of using their already constructed and ready-to-use well.

“All the farmers have their own wells. They had taken loans to build these wells as it was necessary for us. Earlier our ancestors used the water for the entire year for 5 acres of land. Now we are barely able to get good produce from 2 acres of land,” said Pandhare.

Talking about farmers’ claims that their wells are drying up due to the tunnel, Yogesh Shingade, deputy engineer of the irrigation department, said, “Our tunnel has been constructed through a dry stretch. Their wells haven’t completely dried up because of the tunnel. There is no water in the tunnel either. So where did all the water go?”

He emphasised that Kazad, Shindewadi and Akole are three major drought-prone villages. They are completely dependent on rainfall for their crops as there is no other source like a canal which other villages have. The condition was good last year, when the rainfall was good enough.

However, he said, “We have given compensation to people who have lost their wells and borewells due to the project. Compensation for some people is still under process. Government can only provide compensation for the loss that farmers suffer; we can’t provide water”.

About the compensation that the deputy engineer mentioned, Rahul Narute said, “Only some people have received compensation, not all of us. I have also lost my well, but I haven’t received any compensation yet.”