District Coordination Officer (DCO) Larkana Abdul Aziz Uqaili has called upon the Irrigation and Agriculture officials to ensure the de-silting of irrigation canals so that tail-end Abadgars may be able to get irrigation water for their agriculture lands. This he said while presiding over a meeting of Abadgars, Agriculture and Irrigation officers at his office on Tuesday. The theft of irrigation water would not be tolerated at any cost, and strict action in this regard might be taken accordingly, he added.

The minister for women and child welfare, Mrs N. Rajyalakshmi, said that irrigation officials had not yet taken up the proposals she gave for some minor irrigation schemes in her Venkatagiri constituency in 2006. She brought this to the notice of the district in-charge minister, Mr Pinnamaneni Venkateswar Rao, during the district review committee meeting held on Tuesday.

An acute water shortage has hit cotton sowing on 200,000 acres with Nawabshah growers facing heavy financial losses. Dad and Nusrat irrigation divisions are in water rotation schedules for last couple of months. Growers of four talukas are facing the onslaught as standing sugarcane, banana, and vegetable crops are not being supplied with water. Growers have held several demonstrations demanding irrigation minister and concerned officials to ensure regular water supply but in vain.

AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Monday urged Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to take steps to prevent the Andhra Pradesh government from going ahead with its plans to construct 10 checkdams across the Ponnaiyaru. In a statement here Ms Jayalalithaa said the Ponnaiyaru was the source of drinking water for Vellore, Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur and Thiruvannamalai districts and construction of check dams would deprive these districts of their drinking water supply. The Ponnaiyaru originates in Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh and confluences with the Palar in Thiruvalam near Vellore.

The Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD) has expressed apprehension that the Thoubal dam, now 60 per cent complete, was not safe as a big crack could be seen near the spillway. It also appealed to Manipur Irrigation and Flood Control Department (IFCD) Minister Nongthongbam Biren to look into the matter. The minister assured the organisation of looking into the matter and ensuring safe construction of the dam.

Experts at a seminar here yesterday urged the government to include the proposed surface water based North Rajshahi Irrigation Project (NRIP) in the upcoming budget to increase food production in there district. They said, implementation of the Tk 860 crore project would help increase food production by 2.11 lakh tonnes by providing irrigation facility to 74850 hectares of land in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon.

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 Machhannala Dam

The irrigation department Multan zone is facing 60 percent shortage of water in all its canals whereas it has become very difficult to fulfil the demand with 40 percent water. The canals, which are getting water turn-by-turn, are also facing shortage of water. According to the sources of irrigation department, if the rains couldn't start within a week in northern areas, then southern Punjab would have to face severe shortage of water because the water level in the dams has already reached to the dead level. Copyright Business Recorder, 2008

The companies involved in executing hydel projects in the state in general and Palampur in particular are flouting the agreement on the proper disposal of debris, clay and stones. This became evident as residents of HIMUDA colony, Holta, and adjoining localities were being compelled to consume muddy and contaminated water for the last three days.

The water-harvesting structures constructed in six villages to provide irrigation and agriculture sustainability in the area have proved to be a bane for villagers as the dams have not been desilted since their inception.