The Struggle for Water Autonomy

The most encouraging feature of the present irrigation situation in the valley is the good sense and sound judgment which a majority of the water users are displaying. Instead of going off on a tangent and butting their heads against a stone wall by demanding that the N.P.I. company furnish them water in excess of the contract allowance, they are handling the proposition in a business-like manner. As we see it, the irrigation situation is simply this: the company cannot deliver excess water without an additional investment in repairs on the canal. This additional investment the company is unwilling or unable to make. The water users cannot farm successfully without excess water. The only thing left for the farmers to do is to take over the canal, put it in repair and operate the system themselves. It doesn't matter what the circumstances were that led up to the present water crisis; it doesn't matter whether or not it could have been averted; it is here and the only thing to do is get together and take the system over. It will cost all water users some money and will work real hardship on some, but it must be done.