Issue 43 Vol II, July 15, 2007

E N V I R O N M E N T

Punjab: a Desiccated landscape
Vaibhav Sharma

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.”  ~Thomas Fuller.

Water, that’s where all of this started; evolution of all life, bases of human existence and development, river valley civilizations, and the current day state of man. The importance of water cannot be poured into words, but it can be seen through the patterns that history offers. A shining example in our recent times will clearly be Punjab; the way the state progressed, flourished and set the benchmark in terms of growth for the rest of the country. Five perennial rivers [till 1947] now two and a half running through the state made sure that the green revolution boomed. The militancy during 1980-93 did hinder the growth in a lot of ways but ultimately, nature was generous towards the state and its abundant water resources came to its rescue and agriculture kick started Punjab’s fightback. How is it then, that today when ideally the state should’ve taken the role of a model state for the rest of the country, there is a mood of gloom cast over it?

Punjab is running dry and that too fast. The ground water levels in Punjab have fallen below 10 meters in 90% of the state. Furthermore 30% of the state has ground water levels below 20 meters. Cases of farmer suicides have been on the rise as the voluminous problems that come along with the falling water levels, have started the vicious circle of debt traps. The austerity of the situation can be extrapolated from the fact that villages like Malsinghwala and Harkishanpura have put themselves up “for sale”. In fact in the whole of Malwa region the water scarcity has become a societal stigma, as it is arduous to find a bride for someone who belongs to these water parched areas. In another case people in some villages of Sangrur district, have to buy water from neighbouring Haryana villages, at Rs. 150 per tanker. So is the government totally oblivious to the plight of the farmer? Has the cause of the main revenue generator of the state been forsaken?

The answer is not as straight forward as one might believe it to be. Befittingly the government is to be blamed for its shoddy approach towards conservation of rain water for bringing the level of ground water back to normal and ignoring the central governments directive to set up laws to ensure usage of rain water for solving its water woes. The government has turned a blind eye to the fact that although deep boring is banned in areas facing water shortage, by a Supreme Court directive, Punjab still has no such rule in place. The problem of the receding water levels blamed on the Paddy crop, planted heavily in Punjab might be true but is not the absolute truth; as per a study conducted by the head of Punjab division of the Institute of Development and Communication, Prof. H.S. Shergill. He provides statistics to back his analysis; according to him the wheat-rice combination cannot be blamed for the delinquency as any other crop also would have resulted in the same or probably even worse results.  The consumption of wheat-paddy combination is around 1080 mm. The sugarcane crop, consumes 1600 mm, cotton-wheat requires 1065 mm, Moong-Sunflower 1150 mm, Moong-Winter Maize 1115 mm, Moong-Wheat 850 mm and Maize-Wheat 810 mm.

So the study makes one thing very clear that to solely blame the paddy-wheat cultivation is the same as not being able to differentiate between ignorance and innocence.

The research focuses its attention on improving the competitive advantage of Punjab farmers in wheat and rice, by the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). Developed in Madagascar and successfully implemented, the programme, improves yields and reduces water intake by paddy. It has three steps which include transplanting the seedling when young, spacing the plants widely apart and keeping the soil moist instead of flooding it as is practiced in the state. It also favours amalgamation of the canal-tubewell network and creation of a synergetic irrigation system, where brick-lining of canals and water channels is dismantled to enhance their rejuvenating capacity.

Truth that lies within these various theories might be debatable, but obvious reality is crystal clear; paddy or no paddy the water levels in the state are at precarious point. The procrastination by the government has turned the problem into an enigma. Now is the time, when instead of waiting for the Samaritans to turn up, people of Punjab take whatever steps possible, in their own ways to save their beloved state; for even it doesn’t completely solve their water woes, it might just wake up the sleeping giant we call, the Government”.

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