‘Give us Water, or we Won’t Move,’ say Agitating Rajasthan Farmers as Sowing Season Begins

For Vishnu Bhambhu, a farmer in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan, it is a matter of life and death as he eagerly waits for water in his farms. It is already peak season for the sowing of mustard, but farmers are still waiting for irrigation water to be released from the Pong dam in Himachal Pradesh.

Bhambhu said, ”The government has been preaching for years that farmers should grow less water-intensive crops. In our region, we grow wheat, mustard and gram. The farmers have abandoned wheat because it consumes a lot of water. They have taken up mustard but it needs water to grow! The government is now running away from its responsibility.”

Enraged over government inaction, the farmers have laid siege at district headquarters in Sri Ganganagar and begun their mahapadav or grand assembly, which they would continue until the government releases the reserved quota of water. The farmers emphasise that three districts -- Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner and Hanumangarh -- were allocated 58% of Water from Rajasthan’s quota of Pong dam, managed by Bhakhra Beas Management Board in the first phase of Indira Gandhi Nahar Project. However, the mismanagement of the water by the Gehlot government is worsening the situation for farmers expecting to sow the crops of mustard and gram in mid-October.

Shyopat Ram Meghwal, a farmers’ leader from All India Kisan Sabha, told NewsClick that the water level in the Pong dam had reached an all-time high, but the allocation was nearly cut to half. He said, “Currently, the water level of the Pong dam is at 1354 feet, but the government is committing only three spells of water. Last year, the government gave six spells of water when the level was at 1331. We also received seven spells of water when the level was at 1342 feet. So, it is certain that there is no dearth of water.”

Meghwal added that the canal project was envisioned by the hydraulic engineer Kanwar Sain who thought the excess Water of Punjab rivers could be used to fight drought in Bikaner and neighbouring districts. Later, India signed Indus water treaty with Pakistan, which enabled the country to use the water of three rivers- Satluj, Ravi and Beas. In ten years, Pong dam faced terror threats when its Chief Engineer was killed by Khalistani extremists who had planned to blow it up, prompting the government to reduce the level of water permanently from 1415 feet in 1984.

“What we have learned now is that the government is building four reservoirs of 1100 cusec water in Jaisalmer and diverting it there in the name of drinking water but actually using it for irrigation,” said Meghwal.

Furthering the argument, Pawan Duggal, former MLA and farmers’ leader, told NewsClick that the extent of mismanagement was such that more water was lost in the process than required. He said, “The Centre has allocated Rs 1200 crore for building the reservoirs to the state government. We have no objection if you wish to use it for drinking purposes, but they are building huge canals to take the water to Jaisalmer and Barmer. Now, one needs to understand that the water is lost both ways; one through evaporation and second through percolation. If they want 1100 cusec water, then double that amount should be released from the dam. They should have taken it through pipes to contain the loss.” He alleged, “We are also seeing that many influential ministers have big farms spread across acres of land in these two districts, and this is why they want it.”

Duggal went to add, “Here we sow two crops in a year. In the region where they are taking the water, only one crop is sown. Why they are depriving more fertile lands for less fertile ones, it is beyond my comprehension!”

Duggal explained that the water of the canal was catering to the needs of farmers with small landholding. The farmers in this region got their landholdings after the Left parties held agitations in the 1970s against the government’s proposed plans for the auction of about 50,000 hectares of land in Sri Ganganagar. The Left parties insisted that the government should distribute it among the landless. Veteran Communist leader A K Gopalan met the then PM Indira Gandhi and apprised her about the situation. She later gave the nod to the proposal and thousands of landless families were given small plots for agriculture. But agriculture here was not easy though. It needed a lot of labour to make it cultivable. One generation of our parents was lost to make it cultivable. Now when it is ready, they are taking away the water. So, it is basically a fight between small farmers and big landlords now.

After many rounds of negotiations, the talks between farmers and the district administration failed on Monday. Meghwal and Duggal both maintained that the government had sent a delegation of powerless officers who could not make decisions independently. Duggal added, “The talks have failed. The farmers have now decided to close the releasing point at Pugal in Bikaner. We would not let the water flow there.”

Amarjeet Singh Meherada, Chief Engineer, Quality Control and Vigilance, also serving as Additional Secretary, Water Resources Department, told NewsClick that the talks have failed because the regulation has been issued as per available water, not on speculation. He said, “The water availability is evaluated on two fronts; one the available water in the dam, and second the expectancy of water availability through rains. Currently, 14 lakh cusec is available, and we expect an additional 18 lakh cusec will be available once the rainwater comes. If we receive extra water, it will be released for sure. As far as the proposal of pipelines for transporting the water is concerned, we welcome it. All the departments are looking into it, be it the irrigation or agriculture department, but it is a long process. Presently, we can offer only available water.”