Gujarat’s lifeline makes their farmland saline

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN
Leelapur(Surendranagar): The Narmada canal has turned many arid regions in Gujarat lush green. But in Leelapur, villagers have accused the canal of rendering 250 acres of agricultural land unusable. The village’s black clay soil, ideal for growing cotton, has started developing a white coating. Water seeping from the Narmada main canal has brought to surface the underlying salinity in the soil here. Experts say this is natural when such a large canal passes through a region that has underlying salinity. Incidentally, Leelapur is the village where the land acquired for the canal was the maximum in Surendranagar district. The saline land is turning land-holding farmers into farm labourers. Suresh Patel, one of the farmers, grew cotton on his four acres till about three years ago. He lost 1.5 acres to the Narmada canal, while the rest has become infertile. “In the last three years, we have not had a single crop because our lands have become infertile. Water seeping from the Narmada canal and two of its sub-canals has brought up underlying salinity,” he says. Ironically, Leelapur is just one km from the world’s biggest pumping station on the Saurashtra branch canal of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Project, inaugurated in 2007 at Dhanki by Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Narmada’s Vallbhipur branch canal and Maliya branch canal also pass through Leelapur lands. Says Manjibhai Patel, another farmer, “We are afraid that the problem will escalate with each passing year and engulf more land.” He first lost 10 of his 26 acres to the canal, while another eight acres have become saline. “We thought the Narmada canal would change our fortunes for ever. It did. For the worse,” says Narayan Patel. “It would have been better if the government acquired all our lands,” he adds. The farmers add they are in a bind, as they can’t even sell their lands as no one would give them a fair price as they have turned saline. “The state government should compensate us or acquire our land at the existing market price,’’ says farmer Fuljibhai Patel. “The salinity surfacing is a summer phenomenon that you will not see in the monsoon. This is not a serious problem. The salinity will go away in a while,” says superintendent engineer (Surendranagar) V Brahmkshatriya.