Gujarat stops Narmada water supply for irrigation

In the wake of an acute water crisis in Gujarat, the state government has stopped supplying water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river to farmers for irrigation. The water has been reserved solely for drinking purposes.

Currently, the water level in the Sardar Sarovar dam is roughly at 105 metres, less than 50 per cent of the normal.

Even bigger cause for concern is the fact that the spread of water in the reservoir, which was 214 km during the monsoon season, has shrunk to less than 90 km.

The prohibition has brought down the outflow to 4,900 cusecs from around 9,000 cusecs early this week. About 4,300 cusecs are being used for drinking purposes and the remaining is flowed into the downstream river.

“While south Gujarat has less water, that in Saurashtra and north Gujarat is sufficient for drinking purposes. We had informed farmers well in advance not to sow summer crop seeds, but they did,” said minister of state for irrigation and water supply Parbat Patel.

Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam (SSNN), the nodal agency for the dam, had in January cautioned farmers that it would stop water supply for irrigation after March 15 and advised them to not sow seeds for summer crops solely depending on Narmada Dam water.

Through the dam, Narmada waters are supplied to 12,000 of 18,000 villages and over 135 towns in Gujarat. The state government has deployed police to prevent illegal usage of water from Narmada canals or reservoir. “Adequate security arrangements” have been made to stop water theft, said a government official.

Several farmer groups from different parts of north and central Gujarat have been reportedly holding protests against this ruling.