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Ludhiana | May 31, 2025 12:32 IST
4 min read
Farmers are questioning the efficiency and intent of the canal cleaning operations (File photo)
A 100-foot-wide breach in Punjab’s Abohar-Malukpura canal, reported on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, widened rapidly to nearly 200 feet, sparking fresh outrage among farmers just as paddy transplantation was set to begin.
This distributary, which originates from the Sirhind feeder canal, supplies water to nearly 20 villages in the region. The water supply has now been halted again to facilitate repairs, leaving farmers staring at uncertainty during a critical agricultural window. Though this belt is not a paddy growing belt but still area under paddy is on an increasing trend in this area as well. Moreover, cotton and kinnow farming is also affected due to no water supply following a breach.
What has raised serious concerns is the timing of the breach. The canal had been shut for a fortnight for cleaning and was reopened only on Thursday midnight. Less than 24 hours later, a breach was reported.
Farmers are questioning the efficiency and intent of the canal cleaning operations. “The cleaning work is doubtful. Why wasn’t the structural strength checked before releasing water?” asked Resham Singh, a local farmer.
“Mud has entered our fields due to the breach, and now we have to clean it before starting transplantation. Our saplings are not even ready, so how are we benefitting from this? This has only disrupted water supply to many villages, including ours. The canal department should stop making lame excuses.”
When contacted by The Indian Express, Vinod Suthar, executive engineer of the Fazilka Canal Division, admitted to the breach but maintained that repair work was already underway. “The breach will be plugged within a day. We remove vegetation and other solids during cleaning. The walls of the canal are concrete, but at times rodents make burrows from the outer side, which are not visible during cleaning. This breach has occurred from a point considered structurally strong and had never breached before. We will conduct a thorough inquiry,” he said.
Suthar said that the breach might have helped fields by flooding them naturally. “The breach has rather benefitted the fields by making them ready for transplantation,” he said, adding that further investigation is required to determine the exact cause and impact.
However, this explanation hasn’t gone down well with the farming community. “After cleaning, strength checks and inspection for burrows should be done by beldars. They can’t shirk their responsibility,” said Sukhjinder Singh Rajan, an Abohar-based farmer. “This is not the first time. In April, a breach occurred in the Punjawa Minor, and again in May at a different location. Now, after a two-week cleaning drive, a breach happens again? The department is clearly at fault,” he said.
Sources in the agriculture sector pointed out that fields earmarked for paddy require waterlogging to create a permeable layer in the soil. While the flooding may appear beneficial, the sudden inundation with muddy canal water creates more problems than solutions—especially when not all farmers are ready for transplantation.
With tempers running high and trust in official assurances wearing thin, the latest breach has not only disrupted the irrigation schedule of a key farming belt but also exposed systemic negligence in canal maintenance and post-cleaning inspections.
As the countdown to paddy transplantation begins, farmers across Abohar are demanding accountability and a complete review of the canal department’s operational practices.
In April, Punjawa minor had suffered a breach which was repeated in May and now Punjawa minor has been put on cleaning for a fortnight.
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