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Underground pipeline revives agriculture in Bathinda village
Entirely at the mercy of the rains and beset by the lack of water which had turned underground water brackish and rendered the soil unfit for agriculture farmers of Nangla village in Bathinda district have now been given a new lease of life.
Entirely at the mercy of the rains and beset by the lack of water which had turned underground water brackish and rendered the soil unfit for agriculture farmers of Nangla village in Bathinda district have now been given a new lease of life. The village now receives canal water through an underground pipeline system (UGPS) for its fields.
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The pipeline has been laid from the nearby Mirjeona Minor,by the Punjab Soil and Water Conservation department,at a cost of Rs 1.36 crore of which Rs 1.22 crore was contributed by the Union Government under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) while farmers pitched in with the rest. Work on the project was completed recently and the extensive 8 km-long RCC underground pipeline now ferries around 3.72 cusecs of canal water to the tail-end fields in the village.
Nangla village,situated some 15 km away from Talwandi Sabo and linked by Lehri village at Rori road in Bathinda district,has of late struggled with poor economic standards. Groundwater had turned brackish and there was a general shortage of water.
It was almost impossible to grow crops due to large quantity of alkali salts appearing on the soil surface here,said Mohinderpal Singh,Chief Conservator of the Punjab Soil and Water Conservation Department. He added that the department took all these facts into consideration before settling for the Underground Pipeline System (UGPS) in 2010-11.
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As the first waters reach the village,it brings with it a sense of optimism. Acres of land will now get much-awaited good quality assured irrigation water,said Jagir Singh,a former sarpanch of the village. Harcharan Singh,Raja Singh and other beneficiaries in the village say that the project will benefit 568 farmers.