Farmers demand water for irrigation
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 16 2023:
The Nongpok Imphal Loumi Shinmi Apunba Lup has urged the Government to provide adequate volume of water for irrigating Rabi crops.
Speaking to media persons at Manipur Press Club here this afternoon, Nongpok Imphal Loumi Shinmi Apunba Lup president Huiningshumbam Ibohalbi said that they submitted a memorandum to the Chief Engineer of Water Resources Department on January 11 seeking water for irrigation of fields where Rabi crops are planted.
Copies of the same memorandum were also submitted to the Imphal East DC, Agriculture Director and the District Agriculture Officers concerned.
that no arrangement has been made till date for providing water to cultivated fields, Ibohalbi said that a group of farmers went and inspected the Dolaithabi Dam.
The dam has plenty of water and there would be no harm in diverting a certain volume of water to fields where Rabi crops are cultivated, he said.
Informing that mustard and other Rabi crops are being cultivated over 25 paris, Ibohalbi said that the crops are now withering and drying due to acute shortage of water.
Even though the Government has been providing crop seeds of high yielding varieties to farmers, water which is indispensable for cultivation of any type of vegetable has not been provided, he said.
He asserted that many vegetables can be produced abundantly if the necessary volume of water is provided to the fields.
He said that the farmers would be constrained to launch different modes of agitation if water is not provided to the fields by January 17.Pukhrambam Chaobaof Yairipok Nongbram who is a member of the Nongpok Imphal Loumi Shinmi Apunba Lup said that a group of farmers have been cultivating winter crops over 25 paris at Yairipok Nongbram.
However, most of these crops which have started maturing are now drying up due to acute shortage of water, he added.