IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO MAKE A FRESH START: BHAI DINESH

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO MAKE A FRESH START: BHAI DINESH

13-JULY-ENG 6

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------Every year, with the onset of the monsoon, Bihar faces recurring problems. From the capital, Patna, to district headquarters, subdivisions, blocks, and rural areas, daily life is disrupted by waterlogging. Roads get flooded, water enters people's homes, and property worth crores of rupees is damaged. The time has come for the government to find a permanent solution to this issue.

During the monsoon, precious water from rivers, drains, traditional water bodies (*ahars*), and ponds flows away unused, yet just a few months later, farmers struggle due to a lack of water for irrigation. The government should formulate a comprehensive plan now to construct dams (large and small), check dams, embankments, reservoirs, and water harvesting structures wherever needed. This would conserve rainwater, provide irrigation water to farmers, boost fisheries, and improve groundwater levels.

Throughout the monsoon season, the government should dedicate at least two hours daily to reviewing farmers' issues. Immediate solutions must be ensured through regular monitoring of water availability in canals, canal cleaning, the condition of state-run tubewells, uninterrupted power supply via agricultural feeders, paddy transplantation, and irrigation systems.

It is deeply unfortunate that even today, farmers have to make repeated rounds of the Electricity and Irrigation Department offices for basic facilities—such as replacing agricultural transformers, getting wires, poles, and transformers for private borewells, activating existing agricultural transformers, cleaning canals, and securing irrigation water. Often, they are even forced to stage protests. This raises serious questions about the accountability of the system.

If the government ensures regular reviews and accountability, most of these problems can be resolved in a timely manner. Farmers should not have to run from pillar to post in government offices; instead, the government machinery should reach their fields and villages—this would be the hallmark of good governance.

Only when the farmer is strong will Bihar prosper. Water conservation, improved irrigation systems, and uninterrupted electricity for agriculture form the strong foundation of a prosperous Bihar.