Water meant for irrigation ‘diverted’ to CM’s pet project Suryadhar Lake; farmers protest
Item
Title
Water meant for irrigation ‘diverted’ to CM’s pet project Suryadhar Lake; farmers protest
Description
Haridwar: Barely a few days after chief minister Trivdendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the Suryadhar Lake project in his constituency Doiwala, local farmers on Wednesday began to protest at the site claiming that the water meant for irrigation purpose was diverted to fill up the lake, which is CM’s flagship project. The protesting farmers alleged that instead of supplying more water to them for their winter crops, the administration is busy in ensuring that the man-made lake is flush with water. Last week, the CM had announced that the lake will be developed as a tourist spot where adventure sports activities will also be conducted. Anoop Chauhan, block president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait), told TOI, “The flow of the river had been restrained to fill up the lake. This affected 11 gram sabhas of Ranipokhari area of Dehradun. Most of the villagers are farmers and this time is very crucial for irrigation. And yet, the irrigation department stored the stream water in the lake. Hence, the farmers protested.” Following the protest, water for irrigation was released by the irrigation department.
Publisher
The Times of India
Date
2020-12-04
Coverage
Dehradun