Narayanpatnas indigenous irrigation project takes off

Now with the digging up of the canal and the innovative use of mountainous streams,  
the cultivation has been possible in the arid uncultivated land patches here.

“Here, we had no canal. So we had to draw a canal from a river which is two kilometres away from here,” said a local. 

The villagers comprising at least 50 families have long been fighting for their rights — and the slogans they have been shouting since long have only fallen on the deaf ears of administration. The irrigation system here has been either defunct or only exists on paper.    

Meanwhile, the digging up of canal which took three months’ time has earned the villagers a new respect among people in the adjoining areas.

Abhimanu Subudhi, teacher said, “The villagers have dug up a canal themselves to irrigate their lands. Besides, these hardworking people are now focusing on educating their children.”