Jammu | Sept, 14:A 2-member team of officers of Command Area Development Department (CADD) Jammu undertook an exposure visit to Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to study modern irrigation practices.
The team, comprised of Project Officer Soil and Water Management Ram Gopal Sharma and ASCO Sarore Dr Aadil Rashid, visited different installations in Himachal Pradesh and Talwara in Punjab to study innovative and efficient irrigation systems and explore their replication in the Command Areas of Jammu province
During the visit to Himachal Pradesh, the team visited Nadaun Medium irrigation projects of HP’s Jal Shakti Department, wherein water is lifted from the Beas River and conveyed to otherwise dry areas for irrigation. The project has facilitated irrigation over approximately 3,000 hectares through a Pressurized Pipe Irrigation Conveyance (PPIC) system, providing assured irrigation to agricultural fields that were earlier dependent on limited and uncertain water sources. The project demonstrated the potential of lifting water from perennial river sources and efficiently conveying it to dry command areas.
The team also visited the HP Shiva project, executed by the Horticulture department where micro-irrigation systems with SCADA/IoT have been created for efficient utilization of available water. The system demonstrates the benefits of controlled and efficient application of irrigation water at the field level, with potential for improving water-use efficiency and agricultural productivity. The Project focuses on high-value subtropical fruit crops instead of traditional low-value crops. The Project is providing higher income to farmers by shifting to profitability through high value fruit production, utilizing barren lands, assured irrigation and seed to market support.
At Talwara in Punjab, the team visited Kandi Community Micro irrigation project where Solar PV energy is being used for pumping water from the canal through a pressurized pipe irrigation conveyance (PPIC) system to irrigate area under command with micro irrigation both by sprinkler and drip. The project provided useful insights into the integration of conventional canal water sources with modern pressurized conveyance and field-level irrigation systems.
The exposure visit provided the officers with an opportunity to study the planning, design, water-lifting arrangements, conveyance systems, pressurized irrigation infrastructure and community centric water management being adopted under these projects to enable the Command Area Development Department to examine the feasibility and adapting these successful irrigation models in Jammu province, particularly in areas where conventional irrigation facilities are inadequate or where suitable water sources can be harnessed through lifting and pressurized conveyance systems.
Such interventions shall bring additional agricultural land under assured irrigation, introduction of the micro- irrigation system with SCADA/IoT at cluster level for improving water-use efficiency, reducing conveyance losses and community ownership and management of these assets ultimately enhancing agricultural productivity and farmers’ income.
