Chandigarh, March 9
The General Secretary of All Indian Congress Committee, Member of Parliament from Sirsa and former Union Minister Kumari Selja has urged the Haryana government to prepare a comprehensive plan to address the growing problem of waterlogging (Sem) that is damaging large stretches of agricultural land in the state.
In a statement released to the media, Selja said the problem of waterlogging is rapidly increasing in several rural areas of Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar districts, putting thousands of acres of fertile farmland at risk of turning barren. Kumari Selja warned that the situation poses a serious threat not only to farmers’ livelihoods but also to the overall agricultural system of Haryana.
Selja said farmers in waterlogging-affected regions have been suffering heavy losses for years. Due to stagnant water in fields, cultivation has become extremely difficult and in many villages thousands of acres of land are gradually becoming unproductive. Despite the severity of the issue, she alleged that the state government has so far failed to present any effective and long-term solution. She said that the government should immediately formulate a scientific and comprehensive strategy to tackle the problem. The plan, she said, should include strengthening the underground drainage system, creating new water-drainage channels and adopting modern techniques to restore the affected land for agricultural use.
Selja also demanded that farmers whose land has been affected by waterlogging should receive adequate annual compensation until their land becomes fully cultivable again. This, she said, would help farmers cope with the financial losses caused by the problem. Ignoring the concerns of farmers is not appropriate for any government, she added. The state government must act promptly on this serious issue and implement concrete measures to provide relief to farmers. Selja said that timely intervention would not only help restore farmland in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar but also bring relief to thousands of farming families whose livelihoods depend on agriculture.
