Tarapur Majri (Kurali), May 18
The water-harvesting structures constructed in six villages to provide irrigation and agriculture sustainability in the area have proved to be a bane for villagers as the dams have not been desilted since their inception.
"Constructed in 1994, the dam was a blessing for us. But nearly six years ago, heavy silting spelt doom for it. Everything has now come to an end. This season, we have bought wheat for ourselves, whereas earlier we were self-sufficient, and even used to trade in the same," said Rupchand, a retired instructor from the ITBP, in Tarapur Majri village, lying in the foothills of the Shivaliks.
The dam here has heavy silting (more than 8m), and no cleaning has made it just another piece of marshy land. The 55 to 60 acres it used to irrigate, is at the mercy of rainfall, which is seldom enough. The structure has been rendered defunct owing to lack of maintenance and repairs, he said.
Villagers revealed that the nearest drinking water supply to the area comes from Gokhar village, 4 km away. While villagers manage their drinking water needs from this pipeline, there is neither water nor fodder for the animals in the village.
Nearly, 200 people reside in the village, while others, including sarpanch Dilbagh Singh, have migrated to other places.
Many families have migrated to low-lying areas of the village, looking for
new ventures. The dam's bed has become marshy and every other day wild animals get trapped in it and die, rued villagers.
"We met officials in the soil conservation office at Mohali and apprised them of the urgent attention the dam needs. We and some NGOs even offered to get the dam cleaned, provided we are given technical expertise. But all pleas have fallen on deaf ears," said sarpanch Dilbagh Singh. He has many documents with the department to support his claim.
This is not the only village that faces acute shortage of water due to dams. Other villages in the same situation are Tarapur, Siswan, Mirzapur, Perch, Tanda Bardar (in Ropar) and Jayanti Majri.
As per villagers in Mirzapur, the structure has never been cleaned since its construction. Gradually, water for irrigation has dropped down to lowest levels and the marshy areas of the dam have become more of a persistent danger, especially for the cattle.
The Department of Soil and Water Conservation, Punjab, constructed the first earthen rainwater harvesting structure at Perch village in Ropar district, having a catchment area of only 8 hectares.
Over time, more than 250 water-harvesting structures of different kinds have been constructed in Ropar, Nawanshahr and Gurdaspur districts.
All these dams were constructed not only for the purpose of irrigation, but also to check severe soil erosion. These structures, in their earlier days, were success stories, but have failed to live up to the expectations of villagers.
S.S. Saini, chief conservator of soils, Punjab, said the Water Users Society was also formed in all these villages, which was supposed to look after the maintenance of dams.
"At the time of construction, we had anticipated silting after 25 years of its establishment. Sadly, the rate of silting turned out to be much more than expected," he said.
Saini said a proposal had been sent to the Government of India for the rehabilitation of these old structures under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. He said if any village is ready to provide voluntary support for cleaning these structures, the department would provide it technical expertise as well as funds.
