Farmers from Baramati’s Malegaon, Pandhare and adjoining areas marched to the Water Resources Department office at Shardanagar on October 17, demanding the immediate release of their pending irrigation rotation from the Nira Left Canal. They warned of renewed protests if water was not released by October 22 and also asked the Malegaon cooperative sugar factory to stop crushing purchased cane and begin crushing standing Adsali cane if irrigation water could not be supplied.
The protest followed the closure of water supply from the Nira Left Canal at a time when farmers said drought-like conditions had increased the need for irrigation. Farmers from Malegaon, Sangvi, Nirawagaj, Khandaj, Ghadgewadi, Mekhali, Mald and Shirvali participated in the march. They attempted to surround the offices of executive engineer Rajendra Dubal and sub-divisional engineer Narayankar while raising slogans over what they described as a denial of their entitled water share.
The immediate dispute involves the irrigation rotation for areas including Outlet 24, Malegaon and Pandhare. Farmers said standing crops were at risk because water was unavailable, while the Malegaon factory was allegedly giving priority in crushing to purchased cane brought from outside its immediate command area. This, they said, had left local Adsali cane growers facing both inadequate irrigation and delays in getting their crop crushed.
The farmers’ alternative demand is that the factory either ensure the irrigation supply or urgently begin crushing Adsali cane. Tukaram Gawade and Harishchandra Takale were among those who argued that farmers were being squeezed by the combination of a stalled canal rotation and a delayed crushing schedule.
A second point of contention was the reported filling of Shetphal lake in Indapur taluka with water that farmers said belonged to Baramati’s share. Yuvraj Taware and Rajesh Devkate questioned how water was diverted to the lake during a drought-like period and sought details of the administrative decision. They also asked why the lake was being filled in October when, according to their claim, the designated period for filling it was before September 1. The report does not include a response from the Indapur administration or documentary details of the allocation decision.
Executive engineer Rajendra Dubal told the farmers that the Nira Left Canal had leakage at some locations and that repairs were necessary before water could be released. He said discharge through the canal would begin after the repair work was completed. The explanation temporarily ended the protest, but the farmers maintained that they would launch another agitation if the supply was not restored by October 22.
The dispute places the functioning of a regional irrigation network and the timing of sugar-cane crushing at the centre of an immediate livelihood crisis. The next official milestone is the completion of canal repairs and the promised release of water before the deadline set by the protesting farmers.
