KARGIL, MAY 31, 2021: Ploughing of agricultural fields commences between mid of March in suburb villages of Kargil town. And with a difference of few days, other villages in Kargil district also plough fields. The period extends to the month of May in far-flung areas where farmers grow only one crop. However, 25-35 days after ploughing water for first irrigation is needed as per a normal routine. Pathetically, village Lankore that is adjacent to the Kargil town got water for first irrigation only after two months of ploughing.

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With shovels in hand, many people were rushing up and down in Lankore village to irrigate their agricultural field. After many sunny days water has increased in the stream as a result people in Lankore got water for the first time in this season to irrigate their fields in the last days of the month of May. This is for the first time in this season that farmers put water to crops after sown them in the month of March.

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A resident of Lankore named Sajjad Hussain told to Voice of Ladakh correspondent that villages like Goma Kargil, Pishu, and Yok Choks have no issue of water shortage because they are near to the hRkong (water source). However, Lankore is located down to these villages that do not get water to their field. At first, Goma Kargil uses the water than Yok Choks thus the water does not reach here for Lonkore.

An elderly person said that the village is facing an acute shortage of water for the last decade. In two years of this period, the village left their agricultural fields without irrigation due to less snow and rainfall. This year, since the sown of the current crop at end of March, water has put out for the first time at the end of May. He told that, if the weather remains good and sunny, the water supply will continue hardly for 10-12 days. Then the crops in the village will again lapse into a shortage of water.

Another person named Ghulam Rasool said that they had no plan to plow fields this year, but rainfalls in March changed their mind. Hoping for more rainfall the villagers plowed the field. Since then, only now they got water to irrigate the fields. The current water supply is not enough unless it continues for the whole season. Because of water shortage, trees that are five to six decades old are dead.

For drinking water supply the village is divided into groups of 24 households where each group gets water at different times for two hours a day. Ghulam Rasool said that for summers we have extended the surface to each Mohalla from the water house. Currently, there are four surfaces for 80 households. The water is divided into households that supply for an hour every day.

Ghulam Rasool further told that they have not received any relief from the government as a consideration to their loss of crops and fruit trees. “We have lost many things say crops, trees, etc but have received nothing as relief for these losses”. Many people ridiculed that the administration provided only Rs 1000 per household as relief in the famine years. Many didn’t receive that amount also in their bank accounts.

Another person named Mohammad Qasim told that for two years the villagers abandoned fields due to a shortage of water. “The horticulture and Agriculture department both had taken an estimate to provide relief but nothing has received yet. This, year at the end of March the fields were plowed, in April and May the field remained dry and at the end of May, we have put water to them. Our apricot trees and other trees are also at risk to perish”.

He further told that the village is in a state of rivalry with Goma Kargil village. They provide us only the surplus water that overflows their canal. The villagers keep the rivalry latent from the open discussion as both the villages are nearby that has matrimonial and other relations. In many other things, they have an order but that has failed to give a solution to the dispute over water.

Speaking to the VoL team, Member Ward Number 03 Municipal Committee Mohammad Hussain said that the village is facing an acute shortage of water supply for irrigation as well as for drinking purposes. Under the AMRUT scheme the government is developing a lift water supply but that is not completed for the last three to four years. The surface system has developed by the people themselves that have somehow solved the issue of drinking water. Earlier, the drinking water itself was a major concern.

“We need a pump to lift water for irrigation purposes as the trees and crops are drying down”, said Hussain. Many elders said that the administration is doing better in many other aspects but not in the supply of irrigation water. That is probably because of the non-availability of water sources in the area. The only source that is available is to lift water from the Suru River.

As told by the Councillor Municipal Committee of the village, the proposed water supply scheme if become successful would serve only for drinking purposes and not for irrigation. Because the water supply is meant for domestic use and not for irrigation.

On roaming around the village, it was found that half of the field had received water and another half remained abandoned. The water supply is divided as per the village norms called Chu Zgos. The particular owners got water only to wet half of their field. Many villagers had left their fields without irrigation as there was fewer snowfall in the winter season.