MARGAO: The delay in building a sluice gate has left farmers in Uddo, Backbhat-Raia frustrated and worried about potential damage to their agricultural land. Almost 100 farmers fear they will lose crops if the saline water does not drain from their fields. The Bagdea Bundh Tenants Association and farmers have called for the immediate construction of the sluice gate and questioned why it has not yet been built.
Isidore Fernandes, Chairman of the Association, expressed his disappointment with the bidder who won the auction to build the sluice gate. “The bidder should have built the sluice gate by March but has failed to do so. Cultivable paddy fields measuring around two lakh square metres, belonging to around 100 farmers in Uddo, Raia, have been submerged under saline water, due to the bidder in the auction of Digaim Khazan ,” Fernandes explained.
He added that the bidder was supposed to drain out the excess saline water by March 31 as per the guidelines framed at the time of the public auction. One farmer present at the site on Monday stressed that the authorities have the power to take action against the bidder for failing to build the sluice gate on time. “Our demand is that the excess saline water should be drained out immediately. Such obstacles will discourage farmers from agriculture,” he stated.
The farmers and Bagdea Bundh Tenants Association are calling for immediate action to be taken to ensure that the excess saline water is removed, and the sluice gate built to prevent future damage to their crops.
