Sapna dam gates opened in Betul, water released into canals for rabi irrigation

The gates of the Sapna dam in Betul were opened on Friday and water was released into the canals for rabi season irrigation. Rainfall was lower this year, so the kharif crop was harvested early.

With fields empty, farmers had been waiting for pre-sowing irrigation (palewa) water to sow rabi crops. They will now get relief with the release of water from the dam. About 3,860 hectares of farmland will be irrigated with this water.

Bhupendra Suryavanshi, SDO of the Irrigation Department, said the Sapna dam is filled to 74.10 per cent of its total capacity this year. Water will be carried from the dam through the D-1 and D-2 canals, a network of about 35 km. The canals will remain operational for 20 to 25 days.

In the first phase, 5 MCM of water will be given for preparing the fields and for palewa. After that, water for one round of irrigation will be released for the rabi crops. The water in the dam will be used according to the fixed irrigation schedule.

This will help farmers in the Betul region with rabi sowing and irrigation. Farmers who had harvested their kharif crop early because of the low rainfall no longer have to wait for canal water.