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

1989, thereby making cane cultivation an uneconomic venture. Further it was also observed
that 2008 hectares of land is affected by waterlogging in the Panchaganga basin. Here the
intensity of irrigation is above 25 percent and the proportion of sugarcane to the total
irrigated area is significantly high (above 90 percent). A number of reasons are attributed to
soil degradation like, inadequate drainage facilities in deep black soils, excessive use of
irrigation water, heavy doses of fertilizers and cultivation of sugarcane without crop
rotation. The study advocates three broad measures such as physical measures, chemical
measures and agronomic practices to alleviate the adverse effects. The physical measures
include leaching of salts and providing sub-surface drainage in the affected areas. The
chemical measures include addition of gypsum, sulphur and molasses to the affected soils
while the agronomic practices include green manuring along with gypsum, which is helpful
in restoring the physical condition and enriching the soil in nitrogen and organic matter.
The study also stresses the necessity to create awareness among farmers regarding the
judicious agronomic practices such as proper use of fertilizer and irrigation water, crop
rotation, etc.
Reddy (1991) has identified the potential catchment and command area environmental
problems in the major irrigation projects. In his study on Ghata Prabha irrigation project, in
the northern part of Karnataka, it was observed that 96 villages were affected by salinity,
waterlogging and alkalinity. The areas affected by waterlogging constitute about 3 percent
of the command area brought under irrigation. It was further noted that in the villages
located at the head and middle reaches of canals, the adverse effects on soil were more
when compared to the tail end villages. The reasons for adverse effects in the upper reaches
were over irrigation and violation of cropping pattern, and also non-lining of canals. Lack
of proper drainage, encroachment of natural drains. non-practicing of night irrigation, lack
of scientific on-farm development and high intensity of cropping seem to have compounded
the problems. The study advocates a realistic policy regarding water distribution, cropping
pattern and drainage program and calls for further research efforts on the ecological and
environmental dynamics of water development. Nonetheless, the study has highlighted
some of the positive effects of canal irrigation on the social environment.
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