The paddy fields in the several upper reaches in Karnah belt of Kupwara district, spread over hundreds of kanal, are drying up.
According to a report by an Urdu newspaper, Kashmir Uzma, no water has been released for irrigation from across the Line of Control for the past 11 days.
This has led to a dire that fields in Dhani, Saadpura, Taad, and Gehrah villages of the are turning barren, as no water is left for the paddy fields.
According to the report, the crops in these fields depend on water from across the border. “Presently, there is a fear that the paddy fields spread over hundreds of kanal in the belg will be destroyed.”
Quoting locals, the report added that water from across the border has been cut off from their fields for the second consecutive year.
They have demanded that the governments of India and Pakistan hold a flag meeting to pave the way for the release of water.
Locals said, “to address these issues, the military and administration initiated a project costing millions of rupees to divert water from the Nala Kamk Naag stream within their own area to the fields. A pump was installed under military supervision, and a generator was also set up, but the system did not last long and broke down.”
Quoting another local named Haqiq Ahmed Lone, the newspaper reported that not a single drop of water is being released from across the border.
“Although, unlike in the past, water has not been provided on humanitarian grounds,” he said.
He mentioned that they depend on their fields for a year’s worth of food but encounter severe difficulties each year due to the lack of water.
He added that they have no idea why the water is not being released.
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