CHANDIGARH: Akali_ Dal (Badal) president, Parkash Singh Badal predicts a severe water crisis in Punjab in the next decade and wants the conservation of this Natural resource of the state not only by internal economy but through strict adherence to the riparian principle.
Badal, said that while the canal irrigation had become insufficient in view of greater agricultural operations, the underground water level had gone down considerably because of heavy draws for both Rabi and Kharif sowings.
He said the arid zone in the state was fast expanding. The poor farmers were the worst-hit as they did not have the means to install deep tubewells or high-power motors to draw water.
The Akali leader said that he had initiated steps for water economy, more than two decades ago, when he was the Chief Minister. He had sent experts abroad to study the sprinkler and drip systems of irrigation but the experiment was wasted after the Congress (I) returned to power in the 1972 general elections.
Badal was of the view that the construction of several dams in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh had played havoc with the natural recharging of underground water reservoir, The problem was compounded after the lining of canals, water channels and water courses which minimized seepage and accumulation of sub-soil water in most areas of the state. No strategy was drawn to ensure that the underground water stream did not go dry.
He said the kharif crop in Punjab, mostly paddy, depended on tubewell irrigation, particularly when the monsoon played truant, as had happened this year and the year before. The way the underground water resources were being depleted, it would be a matter of just one decade before the tubewell irrigation becomes very costly and beyond the means of an average farmer.
The former Chief Minister said that those who signed the Rajiv Longowal accord on behalf of Punjab forgot to safe-guard the water interests of the state, apparently because they were in a hurry to grab power. He had opposed the accord as he was of the view that Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal would destroy Punjab’s agriculture. He ridiculed the efforts of the present Punjab Government to undo the harm the accord had done to Punjab’s water interests saying the Chief Minister had no guts to go against the Center.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 31, 1992
