Minister for Jal Shakti, Javed Ahmed Rana, today inaugurated the release of water supply into the main Ranbir Canal at its intake structure near Steel Bridge in Akhnoor, ensuring the timely availability of irrigation water for agricultural purposes across the canal’s command areas.
Among those present on the occasion were MLA Akhnoor Mohan Lal, MLA Nagrota Devyani Rana, Chief Engineer I&FC Jammu Manoj Gupta and other senior officers of the Irrigation and Flood Control (I & FC) Department. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the Ranbir Canal plays a vital role in supporting agriculture in the command area, providing irrigation to vast tracts of farmland from Akhnoor to R. S. Pura.
He assured the farming community that adequate water supply would be maintained during the forthcoming irrigation season to meet the agricultural requirements. The Minister also highlighted that the mandatory desilting of canals had been carried out in advance to enhance the discharge capacity of the canal system and ensure that irrigation water reaches even the villages located at the tail end of the network.
The Minister personally oversaw the preparatory works, directing the department to complete them efficiently. Pertinently, the annual desilting of the canal network is a planned maintenance exercise aimed at restoring the canal system to its original design capacity by removal of accumulated silt, weeds and other obstructions from the canal bed and banks.
This ensures smooth and efficient flow of irrigation water across the distribution network, including remote and tail-end areas that often face supply constraints. The officials informed that the desilting works are being undertaken during the canal closure period from January to March, when irrigation demand is at its lowest, thereby minimising disruption to agricultural activities while preparing the canal network for the upcoming crop cycle.
Notably, for the past three consecutive years, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department has succeeded in completing the desilting works within two months instead of the earlier three-month schedule. As a result, the canal is now being recharged in March, nearly a month earlier than the previous practice of reopening around April 13.
Commending the efforts of the department, the Minister praised the officers and field staff of I & FC for their dedication in completing the desilting works ahead of schedule. He directed that any remaining works be completed at the earliest to ensure uninterrupted irrigation during the upcoming agricultural season.
Rana further stated that several new projects are in the pipeline to strengthen the flood protection infrastructure across the region, aimed at safeguarding the lives, agricultural land and public property from potential flood risks.