Sekmai Dam Nilakuthi Canal cleaned
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 19 2024:
A canal cleaning drive of Sekmai Dam Nilakuthi Canal from Sekmai Dam to Mongjam village was launched under the supervision of the Minor Irrigation Department on Thursday.
The cleanliness drive was jointly carried out by Nilakuthi Gram Panchayat, Awang Potsangbam Khullen Gram Panchayat and Khunja 9 Ethei Committee, which comprises nine villages that the Nilakuthi Canal passes through.
The goal of the drive is to ensure year-round greenery in the paddy fields which are otherwise bare after one harvest.
Speaking in this connection, a villager stated that farmers have used the 10 km long Sekmai Dam Nilakuthi Canal as an irrigation canal for years.
It supplies water to thousands of hectares of agricultural land in Nilakuthi, Potsangbam and Leikinthabi among others under Heingang Assembly Constituency.
However, due to prolonged negligence and failure to clean the canal, farmers suffered as it failed to supply water to the paddy fields.
In order to mitigate the problems faced by farmers due to shortage of water due to inadequate rainfall, the villagers decided to launch the drive to clean the canal before the arrival of the rainy season, said the villager.
Stating that the canal can supply water till Mongjam village at present, he added that the cleanliness drive will continue until the irrigation canal can supply water to the fields at Heingang.
Once the canal is brought back to its pristine state, it will be able to irrigate large swaths of paddy fields by supplying water from Sekmai River even without the guarantee of seasonal rains.
He further attributed the efforts of Minor Irrigation Department officials, Nilakuthi Gram Panchayat and Awang Potsangbam Khullen Gram Panchayat Pradhan for the cleanliness drive.