Farmers demand canal before Rabi harvesting season

Farmers of Boriguma block in Odisha have urged the Koraput district administration to take immediate steps to ensure construction of a canal of an irrigation project, inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ten months ago.

The Telangiri Irrigation Project (TIP) was constructed at a budget of Rs 992.85 crore with an aim to provide irrigation facilities to at least 9,952 hectares of agricultural land of 52 villages under Jeypore and Borigumma blocks, officials said on Monday.

While canal work for 8,500 hectares of land has been completed, the remaining 1,452 hectares of land is yet to get connected with canal network of the project, they said.

"We had pinned great hopes on the TIP for irrigating our land but owing to non-construction of the canal, water is not reaching our land. We have approached the authorities concerned several times for construction of the canal but to no avail," said Monaj Panigrahi, a farmer of Bsinghpur area under Borigumma block.

Mentioning that several farmers of Borigumma block, especially of Bsinghpur area, were still deprived of irrigation facilities, Panigrahi said that cultivators have approached the district administration and sought necessary steps to ensure construction of the canal before the Rabi harvesting season.

"The authorities concerned have been directed to make a field visit and look into the complaint of the farmers and ensure construction of the canal before the Rabi harvesting season," Koraput district Collector Madhusudan Mishra said