Jaipur, Feb 14 (PTI) Farmers in Rajasthan’s Bikaner division, including those from Sriganganagar district, have called for a ‘Chakka Jam’ on Saturday after talks with the administration failed over their demand for additional irrigation water from the Indira Gandhi Canal for the Rabi crop season.
The farmers have announced plans to block National Highway-911 at the Ghadsana toll post and the Satasar National Highway near 620 RD. Farmers in Lunkaransar will also block the Bikaner-Sriganganagar National Highway.
Farmers in Ghadsana, Anupgarh, Khajuwala, and Rawla areas have been staging an indefinite protest demanding water to save their crops. “I raised this issue in the ongoing Rajasthan Assembly session, demanding additional water for irrigation. We are in talks with the water resources minister and administrative officials, but no concrete step has been taken yet,” Anupgarh MLA Shimla Devi, who is supporting the farmers’ protest, said.
She said the indefinite protest continues, and farmers will block highways on Saturday as part of their agitation.
She also pointed out that Rajasthan is not a member of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which regulates water supply to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Chandigarh.
“If we get additional irrigation water, our crops can be saved. But the government has stopped the water supply, pushing our crops to the verge of drying up,” farmer Subhash Bishnoi from village 4GD said.
Ajmer Singh, a farmer from village 7GD, said the crops standing in the fields are drying up due to a lack of water, leading to huge losses.
Many farmers are burdened with debt, having taken loans from banks or borrowed from moneylenders for sowing. Now, with crops on the verge of drying up, the hard work and investment seems wasted, he said. PTI AG OZ OZ
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