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Mini canals pending for years; Satnala suffers
Although the Satnala project, taken up in 1976 with the aim of irrigating 28,000 acres in this backward district, was completed 30 years ago, its mini canals are yet to be given a firm shape.
Adilabad: Although the Satnala project, taken up in 1976 with the aim of irrigating 28,000 acres in this backward district, was completed 30 years ago, its mini-canals are yet to be given a firm shape. This is causing problems to farmers as the area under crops is falling and crops are drying because of lack of water storage in the project.
Officials have failed to provide water for irrigation even in Satnala village. Water is not even reaching a distance of two kilometres, claim farmers. Huge quantity of water has been leaking from the damaged gates during the last two/three years. Yet, officials continue to remain mute spectators.
Even the right and left canals of the project are in bad shape. Officials do not even disclose when they would be completed. They have proposed to divert water from the right canal to Lakshmipoor Tank to provide irrigation facilities. No one knows when it would be taken up. The work of the canals costing Rs 9 crore has been going on for years.
They are on the verge of closure/or drying up, with trees growing and filth accumulating. Officials claim that already 20,000 acres have been provided irrigation and only 8,000 more acres remain to be covered. They say that proposals costing Rs 28 crore to supply water to the last ayacut have been submitted to the government.
Although there are heavy inflows into the project during the monsoon, water level falls steeply in summer because of leakage, depriving farmers ofmuch needed irrigation source. Because of this, ryots have been crying hoarse asking officials to repair the project gates.
Officialdom continues to show casual attitude, alleges Bandi Dattadri, a leader of farmers. Adilabad EE Sushil Kumar says, “Proposals have been submitted to the government and that once funds are released, the works would be taken up.” The same old story is being repeated by officials, allege farmers. They want the administration to examine people’s demand of converting the project into a reservoir by raising its height.
When the project work was launched at a cost of Rs 7 crore, farmers hoped to take up three crops, as there was no shortage of water. Now the situation is such that not even one crop is being raised.Ryots are being forced to use ‘generator canals’ to divert water to their fields.
