Canal closure vexes Rajasthan farmers

JAIPUR: A cloud of uncertainty hovers over cotton growers in the canal-irrigated regions of Rajasthan with the state government likely to close down the Indira Gandhi Canal for maintenance and repair during the time of cotton cultivation for the next four years. The canal is the only source of irrigation for this pre-monsoonal crop being sown between April and June. The state government has proposed to shut the canal for 90 days this April followed by 60-day closure in April for the next three consecutive years. The main feeder linking the Indira Gandhi Canal Project in Punjab has not been repaired for the last few decades. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 932 crore for the work on the condition that it should be completed in the next four years.

Rajasthan produces around 12 lakh bales annually across 4 lakh hectare. Farmers are protesting the move though the decision is pending with the chief minister. "Cotton crops need sustained irrigation. If the canal gets closed down, there will be no source of irrigation for cotton farmers of Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh - which account for 80% cotton harvest in Rajasthan," said Ram Naresh Chaudhary, a farmer leader."Farmers will have to do away from cotton cultivation for the next four years.