BHAWANIPATNA: Already struggling due to scanty rainfall, Kalahandi farmers are likely to face another setback if the lift irrigation and Agriculture Department officials do not finalise strategy for providing irrigation water.The rabi season has already started and last week a strategy was hammered out. A target to cover 1,78,139 hectares for rabi crop was tentatively fixed. This is against the rabi coverage of 2,23,948 ha last year, a shortfall of 45,809 ha. This, sources said, is mainly due to reduction of irrigated areas caused by water scarcity in the irrigation projects. Most of the irrigation projects, including Indravati, are not in a position to cater to the needs of rabi crops, the Deputy Director Agriculture, Kalahandi, Amereswar Mishra said. For the current rabi season, Indravati irrigation project has offered to provide water for only 8,450 ha against 54,000 ha last year. Similarly, Utei medium irrigation project (MIP) proposed to provide irrigation water to only 190 ha against last year’s 404 ha. This exposes the poor state of affairs of MIPs. There are 77 MIPs under the Minor Irrigation Department but the department has offered to provide rabi water for only 1,380 ha through 20 MIPs. It is because pondage areas of most of the MIPs are not full and a controversy is raging over the capability of LI projects of the district, while preparing the rabi strategy.LI department claimed to provide irrigation to 10,000 ha through 564 Government and 41 private irrigation points. However, this was disputed by the Agriculture Department against the background of field realities complaining that most of these points in the present scenario lack required water sources. After a debate in the rabi strategy meeting, this target was reduced to 6,972 ha by the LI department. Collector Dukhisham had asked for a joint verification by the LI officials and the Agriculture Department to finalise the target. But ironically this joint verification is yet to come forth.
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