Sugar cane farmers face bleak future

Surat: With just 322.44 million cubic metres (MCM) of live water storage left as against gross storage capacity of 7,414 MCM of Ukai reservoir, farmers, who have sugar cane crops in nearly one lakh hectare area in South Gujarat, face a bleak future. The current water level in Ukai dam is lowest in the last 15 years. The water level in the dam in 2014 was 279 feet.
The last cycle of water supply for irrigation got over on Saturday. Irrigation department has supplied 500 MCM of water to the fields in South Gujarat this year and there is little possibility of releasing more water for them. S Mahakal, superintending engineer of Surat irrigation circle, said, “When compared to last year, live storage of water in the dam at this point of time is one third. We had 954.08 MCM of water in Ukai dam last year and this year it is just 322.44 MCM. We expect good rain within a month’s time. Sugar cane crop will not need more water for a month but afterwards yes.”
Farmers of South Gujarat are not used to such situation. Darshan Nayak, farmer leader from Olpad, said, “If rain is delayed, sugar cane crops will suffer extensive damage. Sugar cane crops will get infected with diseases if they don’t get water after a month. There is no water underground and canals are running dry. If rain does not keeps its date with Gujarat, over 50 per cent of farmers in the region will be in trouble. The same will be the fate of vegetable crops if they don’t get water in June.”
Gujarat Khedut Samaj president Jayesh Patel said, “We are going through tough times. We get electricity for eight hours. If a place has borewell, then it has undependable power supply. Where there is light, there is no underground water.”