River runs dry, UP farmers allege 'water grab' by MP

Kanpur: The farmers of more than 100 villages in Etawah, Auraiyya, Jalaun districts of Chambal valley in Uttar Pradesh are facing water scarcity these days, and are alleging that farmers in upstream Morena and Bhind districts in Madhya Pradesh are indulging in 'water grabs' by diverting the flow of the Kwari river.
Local activists and villagers allege that influential farmers of Madhya Pradesh divert the water of Kwari through artificial means.Anup Singh Rajawat, a resident of Sindaus told TOI that 'stop dams' are being constructed at several spots, besides powerful pumps are being used to draw water from the river.
However, senior officials of Madhya Pradesh denied the charge, asserting that the river has dried up due to scanty rainfall. Bhind (Madhya Pradesh) district collector Illaya T Raja told TOI that no water is being diverted. "Kwari river does not have enough water at this point of time, so where is the question of siphoning off water from. Scanty rainfall has made the situation worse over the past few years," he said.
A large number of people live in more than 100 villages near Kwari, that meets at a confluence called 'Pachnada' (confluence of five rivers Kwari, Pahuj, Yamuna, Chambal and Sind) near Sindaus village in Bhareh town of Etawah. They are allegedly not getting a drop of its water these days. The total catchment of the river is 23,999 km.
"We used to have a good life before. Agriculture used to be good enough to look after my entire family. But now, there is no water in Kwari and we want to sell our land and move elsewhere," said Indrabhan, a farmer in Kaleshwar Ghadiya and member of NGO Yamuna Nadi Mitra Mandali.
"Local activists have discovered that influential farmers have been siphoning off river water from Porsa up to Para villages in Bhind district of MP," said Rajiv Chauhan, secretary, Society for conservation of nature.
Etawah district magistrate Nitin Bansal said that state government would talk to MP authorities over the issue.
"The activists and locals should come forward and apprise us about such spots where people are resorting to illegal means to grab water. We would initiate action against them," Raja added. Kwari is a tributary river of Kali Sindh river in Etawah district and further merges into Yamuna, Pahuj, Chambal and Sind.
In Madhya Pradesh, districts like Kailasras, Bijeypur, Sheopur, and Morena are located on the banks of this river. The Kwari river also spelled as Kuwari or Kunwari, has a length of 139.49 kms. Being a tributary of Kali Sindh river.