AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

IRRIGATION

Irrigation is of prime importance in the development of agriculture. It not only brings more and more acreage under the plough and makes possible the taking of double crops, but also makes crops less dependent on the vagaries of nature. It is precisely these aspects of irrigation that have attracted the farmers since early times. Though the importance of irrigation is all too readily realised, little seems to have been done in the past to provide it in the Wardha district. As a result the biggest drawback in the development of agriculture in the district is the lack of adequate irrigation facilities, which leave the success or failure of agriculture entirely at the mercy of nature. Again the nature has been very thrifty in the endowment of water resources to the district, there being only two perennial rivers viz., the Wardha and the Dham. The remaining rivers, though they pose a threat to the villages settled along their banks when they are in spate during the monsoon, their beds practically go dry during summer. Moreover, the deep beds of these rivers do not permit canal irrigation. Hence to the present day wells remain the chief source of irrigation. However, Government are making efforts to harness what ever water resources are available for irrigation. To this end the Bor project which is likely to irrigate a little over 33,000 acres has already been taken up and Ashti tank project irrigating 900 acres already completed.

It may be pointed out that though wells are the principal source of irrigation, owing to the proximity of hard basalt rock and sub-soil water at 40 feet depth the cost of digging a well ranges from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 4,000 which puts it beyond the reach of an average cultivator. Realising this difficulty as also the necessity of tapping sub-soil water resources Government have started giving liberal assistance in the form of loans and aid. With the help thus rendered many wells have been sunk and more are in the process of being sunk. Many of these wells are fitted with electric pumps or oil engines. In 1965-66, 15,408 acres were irrigated by 7,929 wells, both Government and private. Recently a survey was undertaken to find out the ground water potential in the district. Tank irrigation until the Ashti tank was harnessed was practically non-existent and in 1965-66, of the ten tanks irrigating 175 acres of land, nine were in Hinganghat tahsil. In a few places water is raised by pumping sets or by hand from stream-beds. It seems probable that well irrigation in Wardha could still further be successfully applied to wheat which is liable to suifer from drought in the shallow black soil. In 1965-66 the total gross area of crops irrigated by existing wells and tanks excluding 900 acres from Ashti tank stood at 16,545 acres, wells alone accounting for 15,408 acres.

Ashti Tank Project.

Ashti tank project is a minor irrigation work which was taken up in 1961-62 and completed in March 1967 at a cost of Rs. 10.18 lakhs. Its catchment area is 2.6 square miles and the dam is earth-filled rolled dam with a length of 1933 feet and a maximum height of 57 feet. As against the irrigated area of 900 acres, the commanded area is 1406 acres. Its main canal is three miles long and has two distributaries.

Bor Project.

Near Bori village in Wardha tahsil on the Bori river a dam after the fashion of the Gangapur earthen dam in Nasik district is being built to harness the waters of the Wardha and the Dham. The work was started in 1958 and is expected to be complete in 1968. [The Bor. irrigation project has been completed except in regard to work of the distributory system.] To be built in two stages at a cost of Rs. 296 and Rs. 347 lakhs respectively, the project is estimated to irrigate over 33,000 acres of arable land when complete. The dam length would be 3,800 feet and height 188 feet. The main canal which will be 14 miles long would terminate at Kelzar village near Wardha from where the distributaries would take off. The project would be a great boon to the district and immensely help to boost its agricultural produce. Of the total area irrigated under this project cotton would account for 13,000 acres and rice 7,000 acres.

The table below gives the tahsil-wise sources of water-supply and the area irrigated therefrom for the years 1957-58, 1959-60, 1963-64 and 1965-66.

TABLE No. 22

SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY AND AREA IRRIGATED THEREFROM IN EACH TAHSIL OF WARDHA DISTRICT

TABLE No. 22-contd.

TABLE No. 22-contd.

SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY AND AREA IRRIGATED THEREFROM IN EACH TAHSIL OF WARDHA DISTRICT-Contd.

TABLE No. 22-contd.

In 1965-66, the total area of food crops irrigated was 13,804 acres, major crops irrigated being wheat (4,827 acres), chillis (3,285 acres) and rice (313 acres). Of the 2,712 acres of non-food crops irrigated, cotton alone accounted for 2,613 acres. Irrigated area under groundnut and tobacco was negligible. Orange and vegetable gardens are also irrigated.

The tables No. 23 and 24 give tahsil-wise area of food and non-food crops irrigated in the district.

TABLE No 23

TAHSIL-WISE AREA OF FOOD CROPS IRRIGATED IN WARDHA DISTRICT

(In Acres)

TABLE No 23-contd.

TABLE No. 24

TAHSIL-WISE AREA OF NON-FOOD CROPS IRRIGATED, WARDHA DISTRICT

(In Acres)

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