Farmers of about 50 Hisar villages are unable to sow rabi crops on 2,058 acres of agricultural land, due to waterlogged fields following rain in September.

They said it was a double whammy for them as they had lost the previous (kharif) crop and were also set to miss the next (rabi) season due to inundation.

Satyawan Singh, former sarpanch of Badhawar village, one of the worst affected villages in Hisar, said the district administration had pressed staff of the Irrigation Department into service for draining out water. “Nearly one fourth of the total agricultural land is still inundated. Even one locality — established under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna — which has nearly 70 houses, is still flooded with rainwater,” he said.

The district administration has swung into action after reports of waterlogging in fields in 10 districts, including Jind, Fatehabad, Hisar, Sirsa and Bhiwani. Agriculture Minister JP Dalal and Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, about a fortnight ago, held a meeting through video-conferencing with the DCs of these districts and directed them to take immediate measures to drain out water from waterlogged fields.

Sources said nearly 3,396 acres were reported to be waterlogged in the initial report of the district administration. Following orders from the state government, the authorities installed water pumps to drain out water. The district authorities now claim that fresh reports from the affected villages indicate that 1,338 acres will be ready for sowing in next few days.

Anoop Singh, a farmer of Badhawar village, however, maintained that they lost their entire cotton and paddy crop after heavy rains in September. “Crop is yet to be sown on over 500 acres in our village. This is the second consecutive year when we have suffered crop losses,” he said. Besides Badhawar, other worst affected villages include Bithmara, Singhwa Ragho, Gurana, Sindhar, Ladwa, Patan, Mirzapur, Chainat, Garhi, Bhatol Jatan etc.

An official of the Irrigation Department said they had constructed a new drain to flush out water from Badhawar village and motors were pressed into service to drain out water.

Source - https://www.tribuneindia.com