Mhow (Madhya Pradesh): Farmers from Bhagora staged a protest over irrigation water issue on Tuesday, carrying placards and raising slogans. They gathered at Gaikwad Square and marched to the tehsil office in a rally.
There, they told the Tehsildar that they were supposed to get irrigation water from the Narmada Valley Development Authority’s (NVDA) project from December 1, but only Bhagora’s farmers were left out while others in nearby villages got water.
The farmers reported that the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) laid a pipeline from Ambachandan to Simrol under the Micro Drip Irrigation Project. This pipeline was supposed to provide irrigation water to farmers in Simrol, Ambachandan, Harsola, Memdi, Datoda and Bhagora villages from December 1.
However, the project was not providing water to farmers in Bhagora village alone, while farmers in other villages were receiving abundant water. They said when they raised their concern with Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) officials, they repeatedly evaded the issue by citing leaks in the pipeline.
The farmers said they sowed crops hoping for water from the project, but now that water was not available, the crops were at risk.
After the protest, Tehsildar Vivek Soni assured to solve the problem in two days but the farmers warned that if the issue was not addressed in a couple of days, they would resort to road blockade.
The Tehsildar told the farmers that Narmada Valley Development Authority was citing three leakages in the pipeline, out of which two had been repaired. Soon, water supply would be started after finding one leakage.
