Koil Pulwama residents demand better irrigation facilities for their orchards
Pulwama: The residents of Koil area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district have demanded better irrigation facilities for their orchards.
The residents of Koil said that their orchards are drying up for want of irrigation facilities and there is need to look into the matter immediately
They said that most of people in the area are dependent on agriculture sector and they are currently facing difficulties to water their orchards due to unavailability of such facilities.
Rizwan Ahmad, a local resident said that a pumping station was set up in 1984 on the banks of Jhelum River in Larkipora Padgampora to supply water to Koil, Banderpora, and neighbouring villages.
He said that at that very time, very few people were associated with horticulture and since then thousands of kanals of land has been converted into orchards and the existing pump station isn’t enough to cater to the whole orchard area.
He said that due to excessive heat wave, their orchards have started wilting and there is immediate need of irrigating them.
Sameer Ahmad, another local said that the existing pumping facility hasn’t been maintained properly and due to silt present at the source, it isn’t functioning well.
He said that such problems are being faced by the farmers almost every summer but it’s impact is more this year due to the heat wave.
Meanwhile, the locals said that they have brought this issue into the notice of concerned authorities several times but to no avail.
They said that some orchardists have been digging borewells but all everyone is not in a position to do so as it is a costly process.
They requested higher ups to look into matter at an earliest and take immediate steps in this regard.
Meanwhile, an official of the irrigation department said that the department is considering a proposal to augment the irrigation scheme to address the growing demands.
He said that as of now the scheme is functioning well and they will continue to provide irrigation facilities to the people as long as water level in Jhelum will be good.
