Keonjhar: Aradei river passing through Keonjhar has been a lifeline for thousands of farmers living along its banks, but this summer there is no water in the river for them to irrigate their crops and vegetables.
Farmers alleged that though a small dam is under construction across the river for water conservation its construction is being inordinately delayed.
Lift irrigation points are there, but they are not working for want of water in the river, famers of Shankarpur rued. On the other hand, they have to pay unnecessarily water cess and electricity bills even without using the facilities.
Aradei passes near Shankarpur and merges with Baitarani. For the last three years, the river dries up at many places during the summer even as farmers solely depend on its water to raise their crops.
“A dam is being constructed, but there is no sight of its completion. So, we are forced to stop out farming activities,” said Laxmikant Mohant, a local farmer.
But water is available downstream where farmers have no problems in raising crops.
Each farmer used to grow vegetables like tomatoes, brinjals, beans, lady’s fingers, bitter guards, pumpkins, cucumber, guards and ridge guards, and sunflowers in the farmlands along the NH-49, but now these lands are barren for want of water.
As production of local vegetables has gone down, prices of the same have gone up at the nearby Keonjhar market. Truckloads of vegetables are supplied from the area to Kolkata and Bhubaneswar too.
“If the dam work is completed soon, the water problem will be sorted out in coming days,” observed Ramesh Sethi, another farmer. Moreover, villagers can also bathe in the dam during the summer days, he noted.
Even lift irrigation points are not working for shortage of water for the last three years, while farmers have to clear electricity bill to the tune of Rs 10,000 per year.