ગુજરાતી
2017
On November 3, 2017, the Narmada Canal broke near the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dedication of the Narmada Scheme to the nation in Dabhoi. Water could not reach the bush because it was dense. The canal was weak. The water broke as soon as it came. Gandhinagar Narmada Corporation was informed about breakages at many places. Despite repeated complaints by farmers, the canal has not been repaired.
If the program had been of the Prime Minister, new canals would have been built in the entire district at his expense. But the government has neither time nor money for some repairs here.
2023
The Prime Minister got the canal opened but disturbances are happening here again and again. Farmers are upset due to non-cleaning and construction of canals of Narmada scheme like Jivadori in Gujarat. The Chhatral Minor Canal passing through Dabhoi was filled with silt and water was released into the canal due to overgrown bushes. The canal was broken. The standing crops of the farmers were again submerged in water. The crops grown by Mahamahenat got spoiled due to the negligence of Narmada Corporation.
In 2024, there were major gaps in the Por Shaka canal passing through Dabhoi.
Farmers have suffered losses due to the lapses of corruption. Nehar Account Office is also nearby from Por Shaka Canal. There is a gateman watchman on the canal. Officials also visit the channel. Dabhoi is situated just 200 meters away from Narmada Corporation office. They issue contract tenders for repairs, but with the connivance of some officers and employees, their contractors get a free hand.
On January 29, 2025, fields were submerged due to the breaking of a small canal in Virendragarh, Dhrangadhra. Canals are breaking again and again in Gujarat. There were 219 incidents of canal or part of canal breaking in three years. But before 1995, when there was no BJP rule, maximum number of canals were in Kheda district, even today there are no canals.
Even before the start of summer, it has come to light that some areas of some districts of Gujarat are facing water shortage. Even today, there are many areas in Gujarat where people have to struggle and go far to get water. Incidents of gapping occur frequently in the Narmada Canal. Due to which a lot of water is wasted. When the farmers raised the issue and gave a presentation, you will be shocked to hear the reply that came from the government.
Government said- Narmada Canal is breaking again and again because of farmers
It has come to light that there have been 219 incidents of Narmada Canal breaking in the state in last 3 years. Narmada canal was dug maximum 102 times in Banaskantha district. The government held farmers responsible for the canals breaking or overflowing.
In which district did most incidents occur?
If we talk district wise, the highest number of canal failures have occurred in Banaskantha district, in which 102 canal failures have occurred. Whereas canals have broken 26 times in Patan, 22 times in Ahmedabad district.
When did the canal break in Gujarat in the last three years?
219 canals broke in the state in the last three years
Statistics of breakage of canals including Narmada Canal
There were 90 incidents of canal breakage in 2020-21
There were 49 incidents of canal breach in 2021-22
There were 80 incidents of canal breach in 2022-23
The highest incidence of canal breakage is in Banaskantha district.
The canal or part of it broke 102 times in three years
The canal broke 26 times in Patan district and 22 times in Ahmedabad district.
The Gujarat government concluded that the incident was caused by farmers not taking water from the canal, blocking the canal, and overtopping the canal by farmers not taking water at night. Thus, the government has once again put all the stakes on the farmers.
1990
Gujarat gets 75 percent of its water from the canals of Narmada scheme. But in the last 2 years these canals broke more than 200 times. Crores of liters of water flowed away due to breakage or cracks in the canals. Farmers suffered losses worth crores of rupees. This water was neither used for irrigation nor could it be transported to the villages.
In the Assembly, the government held rats responsible for the breakdown of Narmada canals! Due to the high number of rats near the canals, the banks of the canals become hollow due to their presence.
70 thousand crores were spent on Narmada scheme, yet the water problem was not solved.
More than 200 canals were broken in 2 years. There were 124 incidents of canal breakage in 2017. Whereas in 2018 the canal broke 83 times.
Some villages were left without water.
On top of that, the government spent Rs 77.86 lakh in 2 years on repairing the canals.
On one hand, farmers in Gujarat are not getting Narmada water, while on the other hand, water is getting wasted due to canal breakage. Sometimes canals get broken due to excessive rain water.
Some farmers tamper with the canals. They dig canals to lay water pipes. There is RCC construction in Narmada canals, but there is mud behind. Therefore if the first layer becomes weak then the canal gets damaged.
Rats dig up the soil inside, due to which the soil becomes silty and the functioning of RCC becomes weak. Then water starts flowing and the canals break.
The water spreads in the fields.
In 2019, work on 10,796 km of small canals is still pending in Gujarat. In response to a question in the Assembly itself, the state government had said that 10,796 kilometers of small and various canals are still pending in the state.
Narmada canals were to irrigate 18.45 lakh hectares. The claim was that irrigation could be done only in 16.51 lakh hectares, but irrigation could not be done in 6 lakh hectares.
Surendranagar
In 2025, farmers will be allowed to harvest crops like wheat, cumin, sesame, parsley etc. standing in more than ten fields….will suffer losses.
Surendranagar district is an agrarian region where farmers rely on agriculture throughout the year to sustain their families. For irrigation, they depend primarily on water from the Narmada Canal. However, a minor canal branching off from the Maliya branch has developed leaks in several places, causing water to flood farmers’ fields and resulting in significant losses. The affected farmers and local villagers have submitted a memorandum regarding this issue to higher authorities, including the Deputy Collector of Dhrangadhra.
According to the memorandum, this minor canal—part of the Maliya branch—passes through the ‘Chadiya Sim’ area near Virendragarh village in Dhrangadhra. For some time now, the canal has been breached in multiple locations, leading to water leakage that has flooded the fields. More than 10 farmers have been affected, and Rabi crops—such as wheat, cumin, sesame, and ajwain (carom seeds)—have been ruined. As these are small-scale farmers, this situation has made it difficult for them to provide for their families. Despite having submitted multiple memoranda to the Narmada Department and other senior officials in the past, no solution has been found, leading to growing resentment toward the administration. Consequently, the farmers are demanding that either the flow of water be diverted elsewhere or the canal be repaired. Meanwhile, the farmers allege that, according to official government records, the repair work on the canal has been marked as fully completed and the canal is listed as operational. In reality, however, the high pressure of water flowing from upstream continues to flood their fields. The affected farmers and village leaders have submitted a written memorandum demanding that either proper drainage arrangements be made or the flow of water from upstream be halted. They have urged for an immediate resolution to this problem. The RCC (reinforced concrete) structure of a branch canal passing near Mehmadabad village in Radhanpur is suffering from deterioration and erosion. The ‘Kadana Left Bank Canal’, which originates from the Kadana Dam, provides irrigation water to approximately 11,000 hectares of land across 130 villages—comprising 40 villages in Kadana taluka and 90 villages in Lunawada taluka of Mahisagar district.
Farmers are incurring losses because, in several areas, the cleaning of main canals and—more frequently—minor canals exists only on paper (i.e., it is recorded, but no actual cleaning takes place).
Due to this lack of maintenance, the ‘Parampur Minor Canal’—which supplies water to villages such as Pattan, Tansiya, Gordiya, and Kakchiya—has become completely overgrown with dense bushes and vegetation. This obstructs the flow of water to downstream villages, leading to water wastage and the flooding of agricultural fields, which causes significant losses for the farmers. Despite repeated pleas by the farmers to the supervisor, the canal has not been cleared.
The presence of debris and dense vegetation causes the water to overflow, which frequently leads to the breaching of the canal embankments.
Every year, the Irrigation Department releases funds for the cleaning of the canal. However, farmers allege that only select sections are cleared and photographed, while the records falsely imply that the entire canal has been cleaned. Consequently, there is a demand for the Irrigation Department to conduct an on-site inspection to ensure that the canal has been properly cleaned. 2022
Vallabhipur
The ‘Vallabhipur Branch Canal,’ which passes through Dhandhuka, has developed massive breaches—gaps so large that entire trucks could fit inside them. These sections collapse whenever the water flow in the canal is increased during the monsoon.
Passing near Dhandhuka, this canal serves as a lifeline for the Dhandhuka, Dholera, and Barwala regions, providing essential water for irrigation.
This canal has breached five times in the past. On those occasions, vast quantities of water flooded the surrounding fields, causing severe damage to standing crops and the land itself. Despite repeated superficial repairs, the canal reverts to a dilapidated state within just a few days. The Vallabhipur Branch Canal—the sole source of irrigation for Dhandhuka town, 50 villages across the Bhal region, and farmers in the Dhandhuka, Dholera, and Barwala talukas—is now riddled with major breaches.
This situation threatens to destroy crops and farmland spanning thousands of *bighas*. Such damage is entirely the result of administrative incompetence and corruption fueled by collusion.
8 Years Ago
In 2018, the ‘Pera Minor’ canal—part of the Kakrapar Left Bank System near Vadoli and a project worth ₹350 crore—began to collapse due to substandard construction. The canal developed breaches the very first time water was released following repairs, pointing to widespread corruption within the Irrigation Department.
Work that should have taken 4 to 6 months to complete was rushed through in just one week. All unlined (earthen) canals under the Ukai-Kakrapar Irrigation Division were converted into lined (concrete/permanent) canals at a cost of ₹356 crore.
The foundation stone for this project was laid by the state’s Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani, in Kadodara.
The appearance of a large crack in the canal has exposed corruption within the Irrigation Department.
The work of backfilling soil on both sides of the canal was not carried out properly; this is the primary reason for the crack. According to standard procedure, soil samples from the site must be collected and tested in a government-accredited laboratory, and a proper plan for soil compaction must be prepared.
Following this, after the extensive process of laying soil and compacting it to ensure stability, soil samples from the site should be collected again for testing. Once approved, the soil is shaped to the required dimensions, and a 10 cm layer of concrete is laid over it. Subsequently, a ‘curing compound’ is applied to the edges, while the base requires ‘curing’ (moistening) with water for 7 days. In most cases, however, this entire procedure remains confined to the paperwork of the agency and the officials; it is never actually implemented on the ground. The banks of the canal were once lined with *sharu* (Casuarina) trees. After these trees were cut down, their roots decayed underground, creating voids (hollow spaces) within the soil. This is the recurring cause of the problem.
The canal frequently breaches here. Despite numerous complaints, the Irrigation Department takes no action; consequently, whenever the canal breaks or develops cracks, it is the ‘Vadoli Irrigation Society’ (*Vadoli Piyat Mandali*) that carries out the repairs. Officials from the Irrigation Department simply wash their hands of the matter.
Olpad
Due to the breaches in the old canals and their severely dilapidated condition, farmers face immense difficulty in obtaining water for irrigation. (transleted from gujarati)
