BELAGAVI: For farmers cultivating on the banks of Bellary Nala in Belagavi, each monsoon is a challenge. It is the frequent flooding of Bellary Nala that has been causing them huge losses for the past seven years. The farmers have been demanding that officials desilt the nala, but no action has been taken so far.
They have submitted memorandums to the authorities concerned and even protested against their alleged negligence. Raju Marve, a farmer from Vadgaon, said that at least 700 acres of agriculture land have been affected due to the floods. The banks of June Belgaon, Halga, Vadgaon, Shahapur, Bastwad, Basavan-Kudachi and surrounding areas are the worst hit.
He added that now even the fields on the banks of Bellary Nala in Angol are expected to get affected as the nala has not been cleaned for years.The 30-km stretch of Bellary Nala traverses through dense industrial and populated clusters and agriculture farms before joining Markandeya river. Marve alleged that several industries and even hospitals release their waste into the nala. As a result, crops on the banks of the nala are damaged and to make things worse, even the farmers working in those fields suffer from skin diseases.
“If this continues, come monsoon and the floods could damage crops in at least 1,000 acres this year,” Marve said.Subhas Lad, president of Shahapur Shetkari Sanghatna, Belagavi, said several public representatives have visited the area and assured the farmers to take care of the problem.
The Sanghatna is an association of protesting farmers. Even the government-sanctioned funds for taking up the nala work in 2017, but the work never commenced, he said. Since Bellary Nala carries the city’s sewage throughout the year, Lad said it is the duty of the Belagavi City Corporation to clean it. However, the corporation says it is helpless and that it is up to the district administration to take care of it.