Shopian: Safnagri is the lone village in Shopian district where people grow vegetables instead of fruits, on more than 400 kanals of land in the village, but despite their efforts towards a mini green revolution, they have been denied irrigation facilities by a government that doesn’t seem to care.
Villagers in Safnagri told Kashmir Reader that the irrigation canal meant for the hundreds of kanals of land belonging to the farmers of Safnagri, Darbagh, Babapora, Zehadbagh and adjoining areas developed cracks a decade ago, and since then has not been repaired.
The villagers said that farmers have raised the issue before all the officials concerned, but they have only met with disappointment and indifference.
“This is a huge kareva land, comprising more than 700 kanals, but it has no irrigation facility for a decade now. The authorities only need to spend a few lakh of rupees on repairs of the existing canal, but they instead spend crores on other projects which bring no gains to common people,” said Javaid, a vegetable farmer in Safnagri.
Javaid said that his maternal uncle who lives in Safnagri converted two canals of his horticulture land to the purpose of growing vegetables. “He chopped all the apple trees on it as he believed that the land was more fertile for vegetables. But now he is in difficulty because the irrigation canal is dysfunctional,” Javaid said.
Executive Engineer, Irrigation Department, Irfan ul Islam did not respond to phone calls from this reporter.

Raashid Hassan