Fazilka Waterlogging: Centre's Push for Permanent Fix Welcomed
BJP Punjab chief Kewal Singh Dhillon welcomes the Centre's move to solve Fazilka's waterlogging and saline land issues via an expert committee.
In a significant move to rescue the agricultural landscape of Punjab, the Central Government has launched an initiative to find a permanent solution to the chronic problem of Fazilka waterlogging and saline land. The move has been hailed as a vital step toward securing the livelihoods of thousands of farmers in the region.
Kewal Singh Dhillon, the Punjab President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for prioritizing this crisis. He emphasized that the intervention comes at a critical time for the farming community in Fazilka and its surrounding areas.
Expert Committee to Lead Scientific Recovery
To tackle the issue with precision, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has constituted a six-member expert committee. This team will operate under the leadership of the Director of the ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal.
The committee is tasked with a comprehensive mandate:
- Conducting detailed ground-level assessments of the affected regions.
- Identifying the root causes of the persistent waterlogging.
- Recommending scientifically sound and sustainable solutions.
- Developing strategies to restore saline land to make it suitable for cultivation once again.
Dhillon noted that farmers in the region have faced substantial financial losses year after year, and this scientific approach is essential to break the cycle of agricultural decay.
The Human Cost: Devastation in Grain Markets
The urgency of this initiative is highlighted by the recent devastation seen across Punjab and Haryana. Heavy rainfall recently triggered severe flooding in grain markets, leaving lakhs of quintals of stored paddy submerged. In Fazilka, the situation was particularly dire, with visuals showing rows of grain sacks soaked in rainwater.
Local farmers have voiced their outrage, pointing toward a systemic lack of drainage infrastructure as the primary culprit for the destruction. For many, the rain did not just bring water—it washed away months of labor.
"There is no outlet for the water to recede, which caused us a lot of damage... We grew crops for six months, and this is the outcome. This is all a waste now," lamented Naresh Kumar, a farmer who saw his hard-earned harvest ruined in the inundated grain market.
Commitment to Farmer Welfare
The Punjab BJP Chief reiterated that under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, the Central Government remains committed to enhancing farmers' incomes and strengthening the agricultural sector. He described the formation of the expert committee as a landmark step toward ensuring that the farmers of Punjab are no longer left vulnerable to the recurring menace of waterlogging.