Under the leadership of BJP MP Chunnilal Sahu, Raipur division in-charge Saurabh Singh, BJP state spokesperson and farmer leader Sandeep Sharma, the affected farmers gathered at the BJP office Ekatma premises to protest and then gherao the residence of the Agriculture and Irrigation Minister of the state. The farmers from Gariaband and Mahasamund districts were demanding the supply of water from the Sikaser dam to their drought-affected fields through a canal project.
Chunnilal Sahu, the Member of Parliament, said that the farmers have been demanding the extra water from the Sikaser Dam for the drought-affected fields and reservoirs in Mahasamund and Gariaband districts, but the Irrigation Minister of the state and the representatives of the state government have not taken any action on this issue. He added that the BJP had been raising this matter for the last two years, and even though the Congress government added Rs 1 crore to the budget for a survey, no financial approval was granted.
Sahu further added that the Congress government had promised to double the area under agricultural irrigation in its public manifesto but has not fulfilled this promise to date. The farmers of the state have been facing problems due to fake fertilizers and medicines, and there has been continuous black marketing of fertilizers. The waste water of the Sikaser dam must be brought to the fields through the canal to the dry fields and reservoirs; otherwise, the farmers will be forced to protest.
The BJP leaders went to the Raj Bhavan and handed over a memorandum to His Excellency the Governor after gheraoing the residence of Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Ravindra Choubey. The protest included BJP’s divisional in-charge Saurabh Singh, MLA Damrudhar Pujari, Sampat Agarwal, District President Gariaband Rajesh Sahu along with a large number of BJP workers, office bearers, and farmers.
In summary, the BJP leaders are demanding the government’s attention to supply water from the Sikaser dam to the drought-affected fields through a canal project, and the farmers are willing to agitate if their demands are not met.
