Farmers staging a dharna in Sriganganagar with the demand for their rightful share in the Ravi-Beas waters from neighbouring Punjab through Gang Canal have decided to lay siege to the District Collectorate on Monday. The extreme step is meant to draw the Rajasthan government's attention to its alleged failure to address the inter-State river water issue.
After the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) gave the decision for release of 2,400 cusecs of water a day for the farmers in Sriganganagar district from the Ferozepur headwork, farmers have been agitating for the past one-and-a-half-months with the demand for release of the stipulated quantity of water.
Against the BBMB's decision, only 1,700 to 1,800 cusecs of water a day is being released from Punjab, making an adverse impact on sowing of kharif crops in the northern Rajasthan district. The river waters coming from the Ferozepur headwork are divided into two parts at Ballawala head, with one portion entering Rajasthan through the Gang Canal, while the other is supplied to Punjab through the Eastern Canal.
Sriganganagar-based CPI(M) leader Navrang Chaudhary, who is also a lawyer, told on Friday that the State government's failure to persuade Punjab to abide by the inter-State river water agreement had harmed the interest of farmers in the region.
