Himachal: Government fails to provide Rs 10 crore to repair Shah canal damaged by flood

Himachal Pradesh: The Congress government is yet to provide funds to repair the state’s only irrigation project, Shah Canal, which was damaged during last year’s monsoon. A portion of the canal along the Beas in Punjab was damaged due to floods last year. The Shah Canal brings Himachal’s share of water from the Pong Dam to agricultural fields in Nurpur and Indora areas of Kangra district. However, the supply of water for irrigation from the canal has been disrupted since August last year and repair work has not yet started. Farmers are urging the government to release funds at the earliest to repair the canal so that they can get irrigation water. 30 villages in Fatehpur and Nurpur in Kangra district have not been getting irrigation water for the last one year due to the damaged canal. Sources said that around 10,000 farmers are not getting water to irrigate their fields. The problems of the farmers have been aggravated due to insufficient rainfall in the region. Fatehpur farmer Kulwant Singh said that the time for sowing wheat is starting, but there has been no rain yet in October.

He said that canal water would have been very helpful for us, but the canal was damaged last year, which is yet to be repaired. The government should immediately repair the canal, so that the farmers of the area can get irrigation water. Chief Engineer of Jal Shakti Department Suresh Mahajan said that recently the government has received about Rs 2.5 crore for the repair of the canal. He said that tenders are being issued and the repair work will start soon. Mahajan said that an estimate of Rs 10 crore has been sent to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) for the repair of the canal along the Beas river. He said that Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri is raising this matter before the SDMA and funds are expected to be released soon for the repair of the canal. Agnihotri had inspected the damaged part of the canal in August this year and directed the officials of the Jal Shakti Department to immediately start its repair work. Sources said Jal Shakti Department officials had initially estimated around Rs 25 crore to repair the canal but later reduced it to Rs 10 crore considering the availability of funds from the state government. Farmers in the area also blame illegal mining for the damage to the canal.