Row over dam’s fuse gates leads to dry conditions

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Machhannala Dam (Dahod): Two years ago, when Gujarat was battling floods across the state, residents of Raniyari village in Jhalod taluka of Dahod were fighting in their own battle. They cornered the surpervisor of M a ch h a n n a l a Dam — a medium irrigation dam in the region — and tied him to a tree. They released him only after fuse gates, built on top of the dam to increase its height, were broken down. They had taken this drastic step as they were afraid that the increased height of the dam would lead to submersion of more lands. Already, heavy rains had flooded their homes. Interestingly, the agitation had been led by Patel and Rajput farmers, despite their losing less land than the tribals had lost to submersion. The result is villages furthermost in the dam’s supply area don’t get water anymore. “We have had good rains and even have canals in our fields, but they bring no water. Only rain irrigates our fields,” says Hirka Katara of Mahudi village. Dam officials say that they brought down the fuse gates themselves as they feared for the life of the supervisor held captive. “We realized the seriousness of the issue only after the incident,” said an official. There are 90 gates on the dam, of which 60 are service gates and 30 are fuse gates. Six fuse gates have been pulled down. Sources added that if the government reinstalls the fuse gates, it will have to acquire another 142.14 hectares of land for submergence. “But this looks unlikely as the Patels and Rajputs are asking for land in return for land, while the government wants to give cash compensation,” said senior officials in the irrigation department. Executive engineer (in charge) RB Katara says, “We have written to the state government and are trying to resolve the issue.”