M A I N   N E W S

Elusive Water – 1
As water level dips, farmers’ debts rise
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Patiala/Sangrur, June 11
Central Punjab has been the food basket of the state and the country since the 70s when the Green Revolution brought bumper wheat and paddy crops in its wake. A quarter century later, farmers of the area continue with the same foodgrain rotation but at a heavy price. A steep fall in water table is forcing farmers to dig deeper in search of water fanning the start of an agrarian crisis.

Farmers of these districts are not only digging deeper borewells for water every few passing years but also digging themselves into debt from which they have a little hope of climbing out.

The story of Harmesh Singh of Khairpur Jattan village in the Ghanaur block of Patiala is the story of countless farmers of the area. Harmesh’s march towards debt stated five years ago when he installed a 225-ft borewell. He took a loan of Rs 1.85 lakh from a bank to do so. He also purchased a tractor shortly afterwards so as to reap the rewards of mechanised farming. However, whatever he earned was offset by continuous expenditure on his borewell. The farmer started off with a 5-brake horsepower (bhp) motor, upgraded to 7.5 bhp and finally installed a 15 bhp motor over a year ago.With a debt of Rs 4 lakh now and minus the tractor that he has sold off, Harmesh is now indifferent towards life. When asked about his loan repayment schedule, he says, “Sometimes I give it (instalment), sometimes I don’t.”

He goes on to say: “Koi hal nahi” when asked how he would manage.

Another farmer Amar Singh from the same village says 95 per cent of its residents are under debt. Amar Singh, who owns 16 acres of land and has two grown up sons and their extended families to feed, says 10 years ago, the family irrigated their land with 60-ft deep borewells. He says he dug his first deep borewell in 2002. At present, he is replacing an older borewell, which had become defunct with 375-ft deep borewell. Ironically, he has not struck sweet water even now.

Farmers like Harmesh and Amar Singh and others in Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur, Barnala and Moga in Central Punjab are paying for their insistence in planting paddy, a crop that has led them into debt. The farmers, however, say there is no other viable alternative and that a few good cycles could lead them out of the debt trap.This could well be wishful thinking. Farmers have to reckon with not only Rs 2 lakh odd spent on digging borewells but also expensive high horsepower submersible motors.

According to Punjab State Farmers Commission’s consultant Dr PS Rangi, 47 per cent of borewell motors running in the state are now submersible.This could be even more as much of the upgrading is being done without the knowledge of the state electricity utility due to high upgrading fee of Rs 4,000 per horsepower. As many as 38,000 borewell owners have applied for up grading of their motors this season, according to Powercom CMD KD Chaudhary.

According to Powercom figures, high horsepower motors are on the increase and low ones dying a natural death. Figures say 7.5 bhp motors have increased from 1 lakh in 2001 to 2 lakh now. Similarly, 10 bhp motors have nearly doubled from 41,000 in 2001 to 74,000 now. The state now has 58,000 12.5 bhp motors and 36,000 motors between 15 to 20 bhp, a configuration that did not exist in 2001.

(To be concluded)