Mahapanchayat Organized in CM’s Constituency, Farmers Seek Canal Water for 60 Villages

The grain market of Punjab in the Dhuri, the constituency which is under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, witnessed a mahapanchayat in which farmers from Malerkotla, Sangrur and Barnala districts participated. The mahapanchayat was attended by people from nearly 60 villages, which was organized by Kirti Kisan Union and supported by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM).

The leader of the Kirti Kisan Union, Bhupinder Singh stated, “Water shortage is affecting the districts of Amargarh, Malerkotla, Barnala and Dhuri where the latter is the CM’s constituency. There are about 12 to 35 affected villages affected in Amargarh and Malerkotla. There are 12-15 villages affected in the Mehal Kalan constituency in the Barnala district. Of all, Malerkotla is the worst affected where the farmers incur expenditure to increase the depth of tube wells. We need canal water before the underground water dries up.”

To further advance their demands, the farmers have established the Nehri Pani Prapti Sangrash Committee. A member of SKM and professor at BKU Dakaunda, Raminder Singh Patiala stated, "Among the 153 zones in Punjab, roughly 117 are dark or exploited zones, so we need to act urgently. The state government should lay pipes from the two canals that travel through these constituencies—the Kotla branch and the Bathinda branch—or should build water channels to supply water to the 60 villages, which might quickly turn into a source of concern if their water problem is not resolved soon.

Major Singh Punnawal from Kul Hind Kisan Morcha stated, “The Centre has given a large share of water to nearby states under riparian laws. Punjab needs to start utilizing its rivers otherwise the groundwater will dry up soon.”

Bhupinder Singh spoke on the same topic, adding, “As per the Central Water Board- groundwater drying up is a major concern for Punjab. CM’s own constituency Dhuri faces the same problem so there is no expectation in other areas. After the mahapanchayat, we were going to march to the CM’s office in Dhuri but the authorities stopped us and fixed the meeting for March 13. We were told that the CM would take care of the matter. Regardless, we have a right to meet the MLA of the constituency- minister or not.”

Farmers claimed that they had long been calling attention to this problem. Despite the fact that farmers in these communities have complained about exploited groundwater zones, they continue to grow crops like paddy, wheat, and vegetables that need a lot of water.