Relief for cotton farmers as water to be released in Sirhind canal today
THE WATER FLOW WAS STOPPED IN THE SIRHIND CANAL FOLLOWING A BREACH AT THANDEWALA VILLAGE IN MUKTSAR ON MAY 9
BATHINDA: The state agriculture authorities hope to push cotton sowing on about 45,000 acres in Fazilka and Muktsar districts as water is likely to be released in the Sirhind feeder canal on Tuesday.
Following a breach in the canal at Thandewala village in Muktsar on May 9, water flow was stopped for the repair work. Muktsar deputy commissioner Vineet Kumar, who inspected the breach site on Monday, said the repair work is almost over and water will be released by Tuesday evening.
‘Repair work in final stages’
“Work to restore the canal was initiated by the water resources department on a war footing. Repair work is in the final stage and the irrigation channel will be operational in another 24 hours,” he said.
Sowing of cotton was hit in downstream districts of Muktsar and Fazilka due to the non-availability of irrigation facilities. Most parts of the two districts are canal-fed as the saline groundwater is unfit for agricultural purposes.
Punjab had fixed May 15 as the deadline to complete cotton sowing, but it could not materialise due to a shortage of water.
Fazilka chief agriculture officer Resham Singh said due to erratic irrigation facilities, the district is unlikely to achieve the target to cultivate cotton on 2.58 lakh acres.
He said if water is released on Tuesday evening, it may take almost a week to reach all canal-fed villages of Abohar and Khuian Sarvar blocks. Farmers of this semi-arid belt have no option but to wait and go for late sowing of the cash crop, he added. “To date, cotton has been sown over 2.12 lakh acres and after water is released, farmers may start sowing on another 25,000 acres after pre-sowing irrigation,” he said.
Dept to miss target of cotton sowing
Muktsar chief agriculture officer Gurpreet Singh said against the target of 1.25 lakh acres for the 2022-23 kharif season, the district is unlikely to cross the one-lakh mark.
“In spite of the low productivity following the pink bollworm infestation, farmers were encouraged to sow cotton due to record market rates. But poor canal water supply has hit the sowing target,” he said.
The state agriculture department has mooted a plan for extra surveillance in the cotton belt of Lambi and Malout blocks where late sowing is expected.
These fields may be vulnerable to pest attacks, he added.