Pulwama, Mar 12: The Jammu and Kashmir government has no plans to construct a lift irrigation scheme for the expansive Karewa land stretching from Kamrazipora to Now-pora in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
This was confirmed by the Minister Incharge of the Jal Shakti Department in response to a query by Rajpora MLA Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Mir in the Legislative Assembly.
The minister stated that much of this Karewa land has been converted into apple or-chards, with some areas still cultivating almonds. However, he acknowledged that the region lacks a dedicated irrigation scheme.
“At present, there is no stand-alone irrigation facility. Farmers rely on pumps and mo-tors to lift water from Khanchi Nallah, primarily for pesticide spraying in their orchards,” he said.
He further added that while Khanchi Nallah has sufficient discharge to meet the farm-ers’ needs, some bore wells have also been developed to facilitate drip irrigation for high-density apple plantations. However, farmers are currently using their own re-sources to lift water, which adds to their burden.
“There is no proposal at present for a lift irrigation scheme in this Karewa land. The Khanchi Nallah has the capacity to meet the irrigation requirements,” he reiterated.
“To support fruit growers, the Horticulture Department has provided 10 deep bore wells and 62 irrigation pump sets. However, only five bore wells are currently functional due to the declining water table, which has rendered the others inoperative.”
The minister highlighted that a portion of the Karewa land, from Thokerpora to Rahmoo, is receiving irrigation from the Novkhul-M gravity scheme.
