Reconstruction of Abohar canals starts after 43 years

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, December 29

To provide water till the tail end and prevent breaches, the Irrigation Department has started reconstruction of Malukpura sub canal (14 km) and Daulatpura sub canal (15 km), which were initially constructed in 1977. On behalf of PPCC president Sunil Jakhar, his nephew and former district president of Youth Congress Sandeep Jakhar reached the spot recently with department officers and villagers to inspect the ongoing development work and review its progress.

The state has released Rs 14.5 crore for this work. Jakhar said no one could understand the importance of irrigation water more than a farmer. “As a farmer, it is my endeavour that our brothers, especially those settled at the tail end of the irrigation system, get sufficient supply for sowing of crops. For this, the canals with brick lining are being reconstructed using cement and concrete material. Farmers are being motivated to monitor the quality of construction in their respective areas,” he said.

Agriculture in Abohar was dependent totally on canal water, as groundwater was not fit for crop irrigation, he said. “Fruits can’t be grown in orchards if sufficient canal water is not made available at appropriate time,” Jakhar said.

“Our economic system depends on agriculture. If the crop is good, then farmers, traders, small shopkeepers and labourers are able to meet their family needs. Farmers had to protest many times in the past 10 years under the previous government. Sunil Jakhar and other Congress MLAs had joined them in the sit-in and Captain Amarinder Singh had visited the tail-end villages to express solidarity with the affected farmers. Now, the present government is trying to solve the problem on priority and funds have been earmarked for renovating the canal,” Jakhar said.