Breach in Distributary Floods Farmland
A breach in a distributary originating from the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) near Tarn Taran has flooded approximately 400 acres of agricultural land in Chutala and Jodhpur villages, submerging standing crops and damaging property. The incident occurred around 3 am on Sunday, according to farmer leaders Sawinder Singh Chutala and Tajinderpal Singh Rasoolpur of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Punjab.
The breach reportedly widened over time, leading to the inundation of crops in nearby fields, a poultry farm, and a farmhouse. The affected farmers expressed distress as their planted paddy, including seedlings (paneeri), were destroyed.
Farmer Leaders Allege Negligence
Farmer leaders Chutala and Rasoolpur stated that the distributary had not been cleaned before the start of the irrigation season, which they claimed affected water flow and contributed to the breach. They questioned Junior Engineer (JE) Kajalpreet Kaur at the site about the lack of maintenance.
“We have been urging the district administration to strengthen the canal banks for a long time, but no one listened,” Chutala said. “Today, the canal breached at two places.”
Discrepancy in Damage Estimates
Irrigation Department Executive Engineer (XEN) Dilpreet Singh downplayed the extent of damage, stating that only three to four acres were affected and that water removal operations were ongoing. He assured that the 25-foot breach would be filled by evening. Deputy Commissioner Rahul echoed this, noting that the water flow was only 150 cusecs at the time of the breach and had been stopped upstream since morning, suggesting the affected area was much less than 400 acres.
In contrast, farmer leaders maintained that around 400 acres were hit. Affected farmers have demanded an immediate girdawari (crop damage assessment).
Second Breach Reported Same Day
Compounding the crisis, another major breach was reported near the main UBDC canal in the afternoon, also near Tarn Taran. Water from this breach flowed into an adjacent forest area, with fears it could soon reach nearby fields. By the time of reporting, no official had inspected the second breach site.
Attempts to contact XEN Dilpreet Singh for comment on the second breach were unsuccessful.
