Farmers hold mahapanchayat, say fields affected by soil salinity due to inundation
A Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat was organised by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at a village in Hisar on Wednesday. The mahapanchayat demanded a permanent solution to the flooding and inundation of several villages along the Hisar-Ghaggar drain that has caused soil salinity in large tracts of agriculture lands in the region.
Hundreds of affected villagers attended the mahapanchayat, seeking a reply on the memorandum submitted to the Superintending Engineer on April 28. The issues listed in the memorandum included desilting, strengthening of embankments and correcting the slope of the multipurpose Hisar-Ghaggar drain from the Bhiwani to Ottu stretch in Sirsa before the arrival of monsoon. The demand for compensation of the damaged crops and houses had also been raised by the panchayats.
A three-member elder panel presided over the mahapanchayat organised by the AIKS. The programme was attended by several villagers, including women. Speakers expressed their dissatisfaction over the lack of action from the administration and said it reflected that it was not serious enough in implementation of the tasks assigned to it.
The speakers at the mahapanchayat included former Rajasthan MLA Balwan Punia, Adampur MLA Chander Prakash, AIKS national vice-president Inderjit Singh, Sumit Dalal, Sandeep Dheeranwas, Zila Parishad members Satya Narayan and Aashis Godara, Dinesh Siwach, Shamsher Nambardar and Sandeep Siwach. Meanwhile, the gathering wanted senior officials to come to the mahapanchayat and inform them of the measures being taken towards the maintenance of the drain prior to the onset of monsoon.
Anand Sheoran, Executive Engineer, Irrigation Department, along with other officials, reached the venue and assured the gathering that the work would be completed before June 15. AIKS leaders announced that they would hold of a series of similar panchayats during coming weeks in other flood-affected villages.