Excelsior Correspondent
-Excelsior/ Gautam
SAMBA, July 5: Amid signs of weak and erratic monsoon, the Ravi canal in the rain-fed Samba district has little to offer to the farmers.
The canal which is a life line for farming community in Samba district has at several paces clogged with silt and growth of wild herbs and shrubs which prevent free flow of water. Moreover, at many places broken concrete base of main canal has choked trenches.
The water has been released without removing of silt and wild growth in the canal, covering about 20 km in length. The canal system remains clogged in absence of repair and maintenance works. The scores of villages of Samba, Vijaypur and Ramgarh get water through this canal.
Locals said that PHE and Irrigation Minister, Sukhna-ndan Choudhary during his tour in the area assured that cleaning work of canal will be started soon but no work has been started till date.
“About 2-feet layer of silt has accumulated on the floor bed and shrubs and herbs had grown up choking the side walls of the canal. It was cleaned a few years ago but now again, there are heavy deposits of silt and wild growth. This had reduced the discharge of water into the canal and seriously affected cultivation of crops,” said Kartar Singh of Ramgarh village.
The sub-minor canal system at various areas of Rakha Amb Tali, Nanak Chak, Vijaypur and Ramgarh has ceased to exist due to clogging. The low discharge had triggered off resentment in farmers in tail-end villages, said Darshan Singh of Balori village.
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