Punjab: As groundwater crisis runs deep, Moga to re-establish permanent watercourses

Moga

The district administration has decided to re-establish permanent watercourses to check the decline in groundwater levels in Moga.

Groundwater levels in the district are declining because of continuous withdrawal for paddy sowing. The district administration also plans to motivate farmers to irrigate their crops with canal water through these watercourses in the upcoming paddy season.

All the five blocks of the district --- Moga-1, Moga-2, Baghapurna, Nihal Singh Wala and Kot Ise Khan --- fall in the dark zone due to overexploitation of groundwater. The water recharging in these blocks is also taking place at a slow rate. According to the official record, the water table is depleting at a rate of 1 metre every year, thus posing a serious threat to groundwater levels.

Moga deputy commissioner Kulwant Singh said to maintain the water table, there is a need to reduce the use of groundwater for agricultural purposes. “Farmers should use canal water for irrigating their fields. To a large extent, farmers have incorporated water channels into their land. As a result, canal water is not reaching the fields of needy farmers. So, the district administration has decided to restore permanent watercourses,” he said.

“Punjab, especially Moga district, is rapidly moving towards a serious water crisis. If we continue to waste the groundwater at this rate, the day is not far when we will not even have enough water to meet our needs. Today, the situation is such that we have only 10-12 years of potable water under the ground. Taking Moga out of the ‘dark zone’ by conserving groundwater is the need of the hour,” he said.

The DC instructed the irrigation and canal departments to prepare and send a report regarding the actual length, infrastructure and other facts of the canals, distributaries, minors and watercourses in the district so that the matter can be tabled at the government level. He said action should be initiated for the cleaning and revival of watercourses.

Only 2% area under paddy irrigated by canal water

Of 1.72 lakh hectare area under paddy cultivation, only 4,800 (2%) hectare is irrigated by the Sirhind feeder and Abohar canal and the rest with the help of tubewells.

In a majority of villages, the water table has gone down to around 200 to 300 feet, while earlier it was at 150 feet. The decline in groundwater levels is compelling farmers to install more tubewells to extract water.

“Last year, paddy was sown over 1.72 lakh hectares and basmati over 10,000 hectares. Water-guzzling paddy varieties of PUSA group was sown over 60-65% of land last year. This year, we will encourage farmers to sow paddy varieties such as PR-131, 126 and 128, which consume less water,” said Moga plant protection officer Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar.