Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Sunday expressed concern over the indifferent attitude of the administration on the unavailability of irrigation water for standing paddy crops across South Kashmir Districts.
Taking strong exception to the sloppy attitude of the administration on its failure to ensure hassle-free irrigation facilities for the paddy farmers, party leader and MP Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi said, “The situation has reached such a point that vast fields of paddy crops that normally remained drenched in water have become dry and the earth has cracked from the scorching heat. The water level in the rivulets and canals have gone down drastically as a result of which the lift irrigation facilities aren’t able to fetch water to paddy lands.”
“As usual the apathetic administration is sitting on its hands watching the crises escalate with bare eyes. If timely measures aren’t taken to address the issues, the resultant impact will have dire consequences on the food grain production in Kashmir,” he added.
The evolving situation, Masoodi said, can be tackled by employing drought pumps across the South Kashmir districts. “The situation in Tral, Awantipura, and Pulwama is more terrible. So far there has been no reach out from the administration to the paddy growers. Our repeated pleas to the government on the timely clearance and repair of irrigation canals also fell on deaf ears. With the signs of draught proliferating, it is imperative for the administration to step in and install draught pumps across the South Kashmir districts. The measure will help rescue the paddy saplings on time,” he said.
