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There could be an immediate solution to Punjab's water woes if the Punjab Assembly amends 'The Termination of Water Agreements Act-2004', by canceling section 5 of that legislation
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - Latest studies, ('National Resources Information for Sustainable Agriculture in Punjab'- Punjab Agriculture University) confirm the general perception that a 'genocide' (translation; 'genocide is a program of action intended to destroy a whole ethnic group'- Webster's Dictionary) has been going on in the Sikh Homeland of Punjab from where water has been siphoned, by non-riparian states of Rajasthan and Haryana for the past forty odd years for FREE, under an illegal writ of the central government. This has resulted in the underground water table in the Punjab, (without having been replenished) keeps touching a new low year after year. As many as 100 of the 114 blocks have already been categorized as 'dark' and over 57.7% of the agricultural land, at this point in time, is now being irrigated with contaminated water resulting in salinity, soil sickness and 'farmer-suicides'.
A March 13, 2006, Tribune Special Report, by Ajay Banerjee, in the Chandigarh-based English newspaper TRIBUNE, headlined, 'Poor quality groundwater in Punjab' states (www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060313/main5.htm) that, "In what is a shocking warning on the deteriorating condition of underground water in Punjab, a recent study has produced evidence that large tracts of land in the state are being irrigated with poor quality water. It forewarns against the continuous use of such water as it will lead to a drop in crop yield - the biggest source of income and the backbone of the economy in this granary of India".
The Tribune Special Report quotes a study by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, (with inputs from the New Delhi-based National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning) that, "only 42.3 per cent of the farmlands in the entire state are irrigated with good quality water. The rest of the water is classified into three categories. Poor Quality, that is totally unfit for irrigation, Saline Quality, having high salt content and lastly it is the 'Sodic' Quality, having a high content of residual sodium bicarbonate, which is used in 42.1 per cent of the state. The districts of Bathinda and Moga have only 19.77 per cent and 14.98 per cent of good quality water, respectively. The others on the low-end of the scale are Muktsar, Mansa, Faridkot, Sangrur and Amritsar where good quality water is just available to 38 per cent, 35 per cent, 33 per cent, 34 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively. Among the better districts Ludhiana (78 per cent), Ropar (70 per cent), Fatehgarh Sahib (68 per cent) and Hoshiarpur (66 per cent), have comparatively better quality water as they are along the flood plains of the river Sutlej where the groundwater is regularly recharged with fresh water."
The Tribune Special Report by Ajay Banerjee goes on to say that, "As a part of the study, samples from a total of 3,940 tube wells across the state were collected and a comprehensive analysis was carried out. This is part of a booklet collated by the Remote Sensing Centre last week. Already depleting underground water level has been the cause of worry for planners and agriculturists. First is poor quality of water that is totally unfit for irrigation. Over 42 per cent of the samples in Moga district were found to be of poor quality while Bathinda, Muktsar and Faridkot, have 24.32 per cent, 19.35 per cent, 10.61 per cent and 8.47 per cent of poor quality water respectively. In these four districts the availability of good quality water is among the lowest. It is either poor, saline or sodic quality. Sangrur, and Amritsar also have small pockets of poor quality water. The study says this type of water will cause serious problems to crop yields and restrict soil health. Sodic quality of water is largely found in varying quantities across the state. The worst being Kapurthala that has 71.39 per cent of such water. Other areas largely affected by this phenomena are Sangrur, Moga, Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Faridkot. Saline water can cause salt accumulation on crop root zones. This type of water is used extensively in the districts of Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa and Patiala, respectively and can render agricultural land useless."
Another report on the Punjab water crisis, in another English language Indian newspaper the prestigious Chennai-based HINDU, headlined, 'Punjab facing groundwater crisis',
(www.thehindu.com/2006/03/04/stories/2006030413130300.htm) states that, "The gravity of the situation (in the Punjab) can be gauged from the fact that water table is falling in 90 per cent of the State. The central districts, including Moga, Sangrur, Patiala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Kapurthala, are the worst hit as the area with the water table beyond 30 feet depth increased from 3 per cent in 1973 to 95 per cent in 2005." The terrible situation has been recognized by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana and it has, to its credit, used the opportunity provided by its popular annual 'Kisan Mela', to create an awareness about the alarming situation which has developed in the Punjab due to overexploitation of groundwater. As many as 100 of the 114 blocks in the Punjab have already been categorized as 'dark'. Laying emphasis on the crisis, PAU (Punjab Agricultural University) made it the theme of the mela to launch its "Save water, save Punjab" campaign. As part of the campaign, farmers are being informed that while on an average across the State the water table receded at an annual rate of 54 cm, the central districts recorded a fall of 75 cm in 2004-05. It is predicted that by 2030, in about 66 per cent of the central districts the depth of water table would have receded to between 70 ft and 160 feet."
The above mentioned article in the HINDU also reports that, "PAU (Punjab Agriculture University) recommended that sowing of paddy should not begin before June 15 this year, as it restricted the depletion of water to around 10 cms. The PAU is of the opinion that the change in schedule was based on saving water as scientists point out that if paddy was sown on May 1, the water table slumped by 70 cms. The depletion is successively arrested if the sowing is delayed as was evident when cultivation began after June 10, which restricted the depletion of water to around 10 cms. PAU scientists and experts advised farmers to sow paddy nursery in second fortnight of May and transplant it in the second fortnight of June. They recommended the cultivation of Basmati varieties of rice, as they consumed lesser water. Other departments of the university at the agro-industrial exhibition also focused on production-protection technologies with stress on efficient use and conservation of natural resources to ensure protection of environment."
The Punjab Agriculture University should be commended for trying to put on a brave face to find 'academic' solutions for a bad WATER situation - a 'water situation' which has been getting worse by the day over the past forty years. The Punjab Agriculture University scientists know it, we know it, and every Punjabi knows the fact that, delaying the sowing of paddy or new cropping systems to save water are not going to do anything to improve the underground water situation or stop the desertification of the Sikh Homeland of Punjab.
A solution for Punjab's water woes can perhaps be found in a Private Member's Bill which has been sent to the Secretariat of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha (state assembly) last month, on February 23, 2006, which seeks to delete section 5 of the historic Punjab 'Termination of Water Agreements Act-2004' which was passed unanimously by the Punjab Assembly, on July 12, 2004. (For details click at: www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2004/july14.aspx) The Act, which has the popular support of almost all Punjabis, had come about after the biased, anti-Sikh, Brahmincaste-dominated Supreme Court had passed its orders on the construction of the SYL (Sutlej-Yumna Link) canal in June, 2004. The Act has been the topic of debate in the region since then. This 'Termination of Water Agreements Act-2004' annulled the illegal December 31, 1981, agreement between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan which the then Indian Prime minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, had forced down the throat of a weak and illiterate Punjab Chief minister in the presence of the then Chief Ministers of the non-riparian states of Rajasthan and Haryana. The Private Member's Bill seeks to delete that Section (No. 5) of the 'Termination of Water Agreements Act-2004' which guarantees that, "the existing allocation of water of the Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers to Haryana and Rajasthan will be protected even after the Act came into being and also fully protects the current utilization of water by the neighboring non-riparian states of Rajasthan and Haryana through the existing canal systems." According to the Tribune, this is the second time the deletion of Section 5 of the Act has been sought in the Punjab Assembly. The last such bid, the newspaper claims, was defeated on the floor of the House in March last year.(www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060225/punjab1.htm#4)
The Tribune story (www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060225/punjab1.htm#4) also mentions that, "Separately, a senior Akali leader, Mr. B.S. Bhunder, today demanded on the floor of the House that Section 78 of the Re-organisation of State Act, 1966, should also be contested." A good idea if Mr. Bhunder is serious and not just playing to the galleries with a lot of loose talk. In February 2006 the Tribune had also reported that the state of Punjab planned to contest Section 78 of the Re-organisation of State Act, 1966 to seek total control over Bhakra, Beas projects. (www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060212/main4.htm) We welcomed the idea in our column dated February 15, 2006, headlined, "Punjab to question 1966 Punjab Reorganization Act with the aim to seek complete control over the Bhakra-Nangal and Beas / Ravi water project —Well done & God speed but Punjab Assembly MUST pass another 'Water Bill' unanimously." We hope, for now, (as we hoped on Feb. 15, 2006, when we wrote the above mentioned column, www.khalistan-affairs.org/khalistancalling/2006/february15.aspx) that the Punjabi leadership in the Punjab State Assembly will unite - steel its spine as it did in July 2004 - and unanimously cancel section 5 of the Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act -2004, to protect Punjab's life-giving water resources for our future generations.
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