Water Users Association and Irrigation Management - Institute for ...

d · 15
degra at IOn . ill Hagedal, some of the fanners had to over irrigate due to various reasons.
Most importantly, the undependable supply of water makes fanners over irrigates the
fields. Although adequate water is available in the village, the tendency to over irrigate
exists among the farmers. There are no regulatory mechanisms in the village to monitor
water distribution. Also the fanners do not seem to have adequate knowledge about
optimum doses of water required according to crop water requirements.
T a bl e 57 . . F armers 'P erceptIons 0 f Causes of Waterlogging and Salinity
Village
Causative factors
Gundur
Hageda\
.
Most important cause Over irrigation Poor maintenance of
infrastructure
2nd most important cause Lack of proper drainage Over irrigation
3 ra most important cause Financial factors Shortage of FYM
4th most important cause Poor maintenance of Financial factors
infrastructure
Other causes Paddy cultivation, Paddy cultivation,
Natural factors/canal natural factors/canal breaches
breaches
Source: FIeld investigatIOn.
Fanners in Hagedal feel that lack of timely and appropriate maintenance of the irrigation
infrastructure has led to land dq,'fadation. The quality of maintenance of the distributary as
well as sub-distributaries was found to be bad as observed during the transect walks from
the head reach to the tail end. Some have constructed cross-embankments on the canal or
distorted the limbs of the canal. The earthworks are in a bad shape with high levels of
seepage and heavy weed growth. This has resulted in a rise of the water table causing
waterlogging and salinity. The major reason for such state of affairs is that there is no
regulatory body in the village to check the misuse of infrastructure by tanners. Further, the
lack of maintenance by the agency and over-anxiety of the people in the tail end area to
collect water directly from the distributary has damaged the control structures. In this
village farmers are reluctant to maintain the structures, since it is a common property as all
the farmers derive benefits from it. They blame each other and the agency for the lack of
maintenance. In Gundur, the distributary, outlets and field canals are all well maintained
because it is the responsibility ofWUA and the fanners to maintain it.
15 Irrigation water management in both the villages is discussed in detail in the next chapter.
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