Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 30: For decades, half a dozen villages in north Kashmir’s Pattan have been waiting for a lift irrigation scheme to safeguard 2,000 kanals of apple orchards facing an acute water shortage.
The affected villages include Dargam, Bahrampora, Wanigam Bala and Payeen, and Resraypora.
Residents said their demand has so far gone unheard. Farmers in these areas said they are forced to rely solely on rainfall, which results in frequent crop failures, low productivity, and heavy financial losses.
The demand is for the lift irrigation scheme from Gundari Nallah in Dargam to Wuder apple orchards-covering over 2,000 kanals of land, they said.
In a representation to the authorities, the villagers expressed anguish that despite decades of appeals, the orchards of Wuder and adjoining areas remain without irrigation facilities.
“Every year, growers suffer huge economic losses. The quality and quantity of apple produce remain badly affected, and people of the area are forced to live in poor and underdeveloped conditions,” said one resident, Muhammad Akram Parray.
Farmers noted that without the project, apple production continues to decline, leaving the area’s population in economic distress.
They stressed that the socio-economic backwardness of these villages is directly linked to the absence of irrigation water, which they described as a chronic problem persisting for more than six decades.
They recalled that during 1986, they had submitted applications before different authorities, but successive Governments, ignored the issue for vote-bank politics.
“For decades, politicians visited our villages, made hollow promises during elections, and then forgot the suffering of farmers once in power. Even in 2025, the demand of apple growers remains unaddressed,” said another resident, Abdul Aziz.
Farmers argued that sanctioning the project would bring multiple long-term benefits, including ensuring a permanent water supply for apple orchards and crops.
Officials from the Jal Shakti Department told Excelsior that they are reviewing the villagers’ demand and that appropriate steps would be taken. “Once that is done, we will formulate a DPR,” the officials said.
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