Irrigation canals in Kandi B’la areas crave for restoration

Srinagar, Feb 24: Many irrigation canals in Kandi area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district that were damaged by the 2014 floods have not been restored yet due to the lackadaisical approach of the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department.
Residents of Kandi Baramulla said that the floods had then damaged several irrigation canals in the area and the canals were the only source of irrigation for the paddy crops. The irrigation canals that were damaged include Khan Kul, Doud Kul and other canals.
Javid Ahmad, a resident said the villages that don’t have irrigation water facilities include Dandmoh, upper belt of Kalantra Payeen, Kalantra Bala, Tangwari Bala and other villages.
“The Khan Kul which is main source of irrigation water is still not restored leaving farmers of Kalantra and Tangwari worried. The farmers of the two villages have now shifted to the maize crop,” he said.
The resident also said that the canals have not been restored or reconnected till despite repeated requests from the residents of these villages.
“These canals are not functioning now. We had many times requested the Irrigation and Flood Control Department to do the needful but nothing has been done so far,” he said.
Ajaz Ahmad, a farmer said they face many problems in spring season as there is no alternative source of irrigation water even for the vegetable gardens.
“Most the people have now shifted to maize and many have planted apple trees in paddy land. If these canals are restored it will give a relief to the farmers,” he said.
Similarly, another village is Bandipayeen in the Kandi area of Baramulla where the lone irrigation canal got damaged due to landslides but it also craves for government attention.
Mudasir Ahmad, a resident of Bandipayeen complained that the irrigation canal connecting the village was also damaged two years ago and it is yet to get restored.
“The canal was damaged at many places due to land sinking and landslides. We have over 2,000 kanals of paddy land which has been turned into maize cultivation due to lack of irrigation water. Now everyone buys rice from ration stores and shops as we are not able to cultivate paddy crop,” he said.
The residents of these areas have appealed I&FC Department to restore the canals before the spring season so that they can move back to paddy cultivation.
Theses areas fall under the jurisdiction of I&FC Division Tangamarg.
However, Executive Engineer, I&FC Tangmarg (Division) Afroz Rather was not aware of the issue as he was posted in the area two days before. “I will look into the matter and will try to restore the damaged canals,” he said.