Barwani (Madhya Pradesh): The bountiful rains the state recorded this monsoon has helped fill the reservoirs ensuring adequate water supply throughout the year. However, on the flip side, the excess rainfall has also wreaked havoc in some parts of the state which faced flood-like situations. Bagud in Barwani district is one such village where hundreds of acres of agricultural land have been submerged in the backwater of Sardar Sarovar Dam. The villagers decried that their standing crops were on the verge of destruction.
With the increase in dam height from 137 metres to 139, many low-lying areas in Barwani district have submerged under the backwaters. Many hillocks in the area have turned into islands. And to add to their woes, the local administration and even the public representatives have turned blind eye to their plight.
Sanjay Jaat, one of the farmers, who owns a 50-acre agriculture land narrating his plight said that road connectivity to their village is almost severed as most of the connecting roads are submerged in floodwaters. In many places backwaters are flowing five to six feet above the ground.
The villagers here are living under constant fear of poisonous insects and reptiles. With the backwaters flooding the agriculture fields, the labourers have refused to go into the field to harvest the crop for the lurking fear of reptiles there. The standing crops are now almost lost.
Ramesh Yadav, another farmer said he had sown corn on his 200 acres of land but was unable to harvest it as the field is submerged in neck-deep water.
Jaat or Yadav are among the scores of farmers who are facing the double whammy - the wrath of nature and the apathy of administration.
The villagers have been demanding a bridge for years, but despite making a promise, the government has not taken any initiative till date.
Crops of banana, maize and sugarcane are ready but the farmers are unable to harvest as there is no means to reach the fields which are submerged in reservoir backwaters, they claimed. The farmers are running from pillar to post to get their grievances redressed, but all their pleas are going unheard.
