Face2News/Abohar.
MLA Sandeep Jakhar met Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann here along with representatives of trade, industries, farmers and labour associations to seek a review of decades-old allocation of canal water for irrigation besides other economy and development related issues.
He said that only 3 cusecs of water per thousand acres of land have been fixed for a long time in Abohar, which has a leading position in the production of wheat and cotton and Kinnow fruit. As groundwater is not useful for crops, the farmers are dependent only on canal water.
For their prosperity, it is necessary that the allocation of water per thousand acres should be increased from three cusecs to seven cusecs. Along with this, canal water should be freed from the chemical waste of Jalandhar and Ludhiana based industrial units because it is proving fatal not only for the crops but also for the urban and rural population.
The deputation said that Abohar city is expanding fast, but the issue of increasing the storage capacity of the existing waterworks has been pending for a long time. Necessary resources should be mobilized for the renewal of water supply by Punjab Water and Sewerage Board.(SUBHEAD)
The MLA said that the government officers and agricultural universities preach the diversification of crops to the farmers, but in the last two years, due to adverse conditions, up to 90 percent of the fruits have been lost in the Kinnow orchards, for which compensation was awaited. Abohar was once considered to be a big market for cotton throughout Asia, but due to lack of incentives in taxes, electricity at affordable rate to industrial units, the area has lagged behind. Not only farmers but agricultural laborers are also getting affected.
The deputation said that in 2019, Abohar Municipality was given the status of a corporation but after July 2022, no IAS officer was posted as permanent commissioner, this has hurt smooth working. The CM said he would discuss the issues with concerned officers soon.