Paddy fields close to Dolaithabi Dam parched: Lup
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 24 2022: While informing that around 70 percent of paddy fields of the state which had already sown paddy seeds have dried up and cracked due to shortage of water, Manipur Loumee Lup president N Singhajit Singh has appealed to the government to take up necessary measures for saving the affected paddy fields.

Amidst the issue of urea shortage, farmers of the state now face a drought like situation as vast tract of paddy fields dried up due to absence of rainfall for nearly a month, N Singhajit said, adding that farmers' bodies have been raising concerns over climate change and urging for timely repair/ improvement of irrigation canals and dams.

N Singhajit told media persons at Irawat Bhavan here on Sunday that the farmers' body inspected paddy fields in Imphal East district where majority of the paddy fields were found to dried up due to lack of water.

Upon getting report that shutters of Dolaithabi Dam could not be lowered due to some problem, a team of the Lup inspected the Dam on July 21 and talked with the engineer concerned.

The water level of the Dam had reached required level for providing irrigation water in both right and left canals but the water could not reach paddy fields as the canals are higher than the Dam's water level, he said and alleged that this indeed is failure of the Dam.

More than 60 percent of paddy fields situated near both the right and left canals of the Dam in Pungdongbam, Sekta, Pukhao Terapur, Naharup, Khabam, Ahallup, Taretkhul, Sinam Kom, Patlou and Yumnam Khunou areas have dried up as water from Dolaithabi Dam could not reach these paddy fields.

The same situation occurred last year too and the matter was highlighted to authority concerned but no action has been taken till date, he lamented, and urged the government to do the needful so as to save the affected paddy fields at the earliest.

Regarding the urea problem, the Loumee Lup president said that the annual urea quota for the state is 24,000 MT and there would be no problem if the department procured the same in time and distribute it to farmers in an easy way.

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