2. Waterlogging

Water logging is the other major problem associated with over-irrigation. In all the canal irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, waterlogging is a serious problem. The Indira Gandhi Canal command area is a recent example in which waterlogging is progressively becoming a serious menace to the arable land. Several thousand acres of productive agricultural land and pastures in the districts of Ganganagar, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) have been submerged under water (Fig. 9.17). The progressive and ambitious cultivators of the irrigated areas of these districts have changed their cropping patterns and have introduced rice and wheat in place of bajra, pulses, cotton, and fodder. Repeated irrigation of these crops in the summer and winter seasons have resulted into waterlogged condition, especially along the canals.