Keonjhar: Farmers of Kendupasi and Narasinghpur in Keonjhar district have done what the administration has failed to do even after repeated reminders. In a show of unity, the farmers have renovated a canal from Baradapal to Hatikucha after the authorities failed to repair it.
The farmers have set an example for others. “Farmlands do not get water due to choked canals. Though we are deprived of irrigation facility, we have to pay water cess. If we don’t pay cess, we are not issued residential and caste certificates from the tehsil. We had no way but to renovate the canal and get our lands irrigated,” the farmers said
“Every year, lakhs of rupees are spent towards renovation of the canal, but it has been in a bad shape. This means, the funds are misappropriated, while we are at the receiving end of the problem,” alleged some farmers.
When the monsoon plays truant, canal water can only save paddy cultivation. But when water is not available from the canal in such hilly pockets, farmers are not keen to take up paddy cultivation.
“We take taken loans from banks and cooperative societies for agriculture. If crop fails for want of water, how will we pay off our loans,” a farmer said.
Thousands of farmers of Kendupasi, Narasinghpur, Hatikucha and other villages are dependent on the canal.
PNN
