For many years now the public discourse on irrigation projects has dealt with delay, cost escalation and corruption. But the challenges that emerge after project completion are not well known.  For example, why is it that during a drought, some farmers have to run from pillar to post in the hope of receiving irrigation water? Why is it that arduous effort and heated negotiations sometimes bring only a trickle of water? On what basis are decisions made and who all decide how the water is to be distributed?  The design and delivery of irrigation projects do bring forth a set of problems that only farmers 'walking the last mile' are familiar with, not the wider public.   

In an era where urban India is increasingly concerned about the accountability of the Government, how should civil society participate in voicing the needs of the farmers and other marginalized sections? How should engineers and scientists design irrigation systems which are just and equitable in times of scarcity? Can common property resources like ponds and irrigation tanks be protected to better serve the community? How can policy-makers evolve better public delivery schemes? Can Government schemes invite different kinds of actors to secure equitable access to the benefits of science and technology? 

This sharing session will explore the above questions by chronicling the situation at the tail end of one canal irrigation project in Tumkur District, Karnataka. It covers a period of six years, but stresses mainly on two water scarce years. With a farmer’s perspective as the core of the narrative, the session will also discuss the value of the village irrigation tank to the community, changing cropping patterns, their effects, the vulnerability of farming and the community’s drive to survive.   

This sharing session forms part of a broader project titled “The State and Drought: Villagers' experiences”, which is supported by KICS Trust. The project seeks to shed light on the existing bottlenecks during implementation of government welfare schemes, as experienced by villagers themselves - especially in drought affected times. It aims to provide a grounded picture of the conditions under which rural lives are circumscribed today.