Groundwater depleting fast, farmers want canal revived

Amritsar

Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC), one of the oldest canals of the state, which feeds all four districts of Majha is unable to carry water to its full capacity, as it requires major restoration. The UBDC has the capacity of 9,000 cusecs, but due to its deterioration, the authorities are not releasing more than 4,000 cusecs these days. This is hampering irrigation operations during the ongoing the kharif season.

“The canal branches and distributaries are not strong enough to carry 9,000 cusecs, which is why less water is being released as per its current capacity,” said Chief Engineer-cum-Director, Irrigation and Power Research Institute, Jasbir Singh Sandhu.

Irrigation officials claim that 4,000 cusecs is sufficient since farmers have shifted to groundwater over the years. The UBDC system was remodelled during 2001-05, which reportedly shrank the canal. After the completion of Ranjit Sagar Dam in 2000, the Ravi has enough water for canal irrigation in Majha, but a majority of the farmers do not depend on it due to irregular supply. Earlier there were seven main branches and 247 distributaries and minors of the canal. Now the farmers have occupied several minors and brought the land under cultivation.

With groundwater depleting at a fast pace in the region, farmer unions have started demanding restoration of the UBDC.

Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Minister for Water Resources, Mines and Geology, said “The state government in collaboration with an Israeli company has submitted a project of Rs 1,100 crore to the Centre for rejuvenation of the UBDC. We are waiting for approval and funds from Union government.”

The UBDC was first built by Emperor Shah Jehan in 1693 for carrying water from the Ravi from Madhopur to Lahore. Improvements in the canals were made by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. A weir type headworks with a properly designed distributaries system was constructed by the Britishers in 1879. At the time of Partition, full supply discharge of the UBDC during kharif season was 6,900 cusess. The canal system collapsed in the 1990s and despite efforts, the government failed to revive it till the date.

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