Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In view of the prevailing drought-like situation and the inept Irrigation Department's failure to provide irrigation facilities to farmers, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) organised state-wide protests today. The students' body also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister to improve the irrigation systems and provide adequate irrigation facilities to farmers.
The AASU organised demonstrations outside the district Irrigation offices across the state and raised slogans against the department and Minister Ashok Singhal.
AASU president Utpal Sarma said that there has been less than normal rainfall in 13 districts and the fields are parched, due to which farmers are unable to sow the paddy seedlings. "This situation has emerged due to lack of planning and total failure of the inept Irrigation department. It is unfortunate that farmers are still dependent on rainfall for their farming activities even years after the country's independence. The state government should provide compensation to farmers in all affected districts. "
Our Dibrugarh correspondent adds: The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) on Saturday staged a protest, demanding proper irrigation facilities in agricultural fields. The students' body strongly condemned the Irrigation Department for its failure to address the ongoing water crisis affecting local farmers' livelihoods and crop productivity.
The members of AASU holding placards and banners raised slogans against the irrigation department, condemning it for failing to provide a water supply to the drought-affected fields.
"The irrigation department of Assam is totally inept. This year, a drought-like situation has arisen due to less rainfall in many districts of Assam in the monsoon season. The irrigation department has failed miserably to supply water to the cropland," said Rupjyoti Borthakur, Dibrugarh district AASU president.
He added, "The farmers are facing hardship due to the drought-like situation and no irrigation water facilities. We demand the irrigation department provide water supply for the crop lands that are facing water shortages."
The students' body also submitted a memorandum to the Dibrugarh district commissioner.
Assam is basically an agrarian state, but the Agriculture and Irrigation departments have utterly failed to perform their duties. The gross crop area in the state is 52.75 lakh hectares, and the area sown is 27.56 lakh hectares. The department needs to irrigate these areas, but they utterly failed to perform this job. The plan is to irrigate 17 lakh hectares of land through minor irrigation schemes and 10 lakh hectares of land through major and medium irrigation schemes. Apart from these, the Agriculture Department installs shallow tube wells for irrigation purposes.
According to official statistics, at present 2,982 irrigation schemes are functioning, and irrigation potential of 3.75 lakh hectares is available. In the past four years, 377 new minor irrigation projects creating 12,210 hectares of irrigation potential were added, and 9,662 shallow tube wells were installed to provide assured irrigation facilities in 38,848 hectares of land.
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