65 tubewells installed in R.S Pura, But non functioning

Tahir Mushtaq 

GNS JAMMU, : Nearly half of the 140 tubewells installed by the government in R.S Pura, Bishnah and Suchetgarh for irrigation purpose in recent years have become non-functional due to lack of maintenance and erratic electricity supply. 

According to the sources nearly 65 tubewells are not working which has created worrisome situation for the cultivators who in absence of sufficient monsoon rains this year are battling the dry spell and possible crop failure. 

However officials from the Irrigation Department say that they are supplying enough water and Department has created special teams to keep track of the infrastructure created to supply water to the farmers particularly in those areas which does not receive canal water. 

At present the tube wells irrigate nearly 8000 kanals of crop land in the Jammu region particularly in rice producing area of R.S. Pura, Suchetgarh, Akhnoor, Bishnah and other areas. 

"Basic norms were ignored while setting up of these tubewells and due to poor maintenance they remain non-functional most of the time. Even after repeated pleas to the officials no step is being taken to make them functional", said Taranjeet Singh, a farmer leader from R.S Pura. 

He said that thousands of people are dependent on these pump sets and government should take proper steps so that farmers dont suffer. It is pertinent to mention here that each tubewell cost Rs 30 to 40 lakh and most of them have been raised by Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department and Irrigation Department. 

However when contacted,a senior official from the PHE denied that there is any problem. 

"Sometimes they stop working due to electricity cut but most of the time they are supplying water. Whenever there is any technical fault we ratify it immediately", official said. 

"If farmers are facing any problem they should come to us so that we can send our technical teams", he said. 

Most of the tail end villages facing the shortage of water include Baspur Bangla, Suchetgarh, Abdal, Grhana, Chakroi, Chandu-Chak, Abdullian, Vidhipur, Samka, Dera, Raipur Saida, Biyaspur and Parlah. Though Ranbir canal provides water for irrigation to majority of the Jammu region, but number of villages in R.S. Pura sector and Arnia in Bisnah sector are not covered by the canal and in absence of proper irrigation facilities are still dependent on rainfall. 

"We produce the best quality of basmati rice in the region, but because of lack of proper irrigation facility we have to suffer losses every year", said Balwinder Kumar, a cultivator from Arnia village. The farmers say that they had to suffer huge losses due to the apathetic attitude of the department as a large portion of their crop had wilted away due the unavailability of proper irrigation facilities. In Jammu region, total area under rice cultivation is around 109.60 thousand hectares and production is around 1828 thousands quintals (2006-07).