Srinagar, June 22: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Thursday expressed concern over the “indifferent attitude” of the administration over the unavailability of irrigation water for standing paddy crops across Kashmir districts.
Taking strong exception to the “sloppy attitude’ of the administration on its “failure” to ensure hassle-free irrigation facilities to the paddy farmers, the party’s state spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar in a statement said, “The situation has reached such a point that vast fields of paddy crops that normally remained drenched in water have become dry and the earth has cracked from the scorching heat. The water level in irrigation canals has gone down drastically as a result of which the lift irrigation facilities aren’t able to fetch water to paddy lands.”
“As usual, the apathetic administration is sitting on its hands watching the crises escalate with bare eyes. Delays in the de-siltation of the canals and the unavailability of electricity have largely contributed to the situation. Our repeated pleas on this issue were turned down by the administration,” he said, adding, “With each passing day, the situation is worsening with our paddy growers at the receiving end of it. Any further delay in mitigating the situation will have dire consequences on the food grain production in Kashmir.”
Dar said the situation in Kulgam, Sopore, Kupwara, and Pulwama is “more terrible”. So far, there has been no reach out from the administration to the paddy growers, he claimed. “Our repeated pleas to the government on the timely clearance and repair of irrigation canals also fell on deaf ears. With the signs of drought proliferating, it is imperative for the administration to step in and install draught pumps across the Kashmir districts. The measure will help rescue the paddy on time,” he said.
