The Horticulture Department has supported fruit growers’ demand to defer the proposed 10-day canal closure. In a letter to the Executive Engineer of Canal and Groundwater Division, Water Resources Department, the Abohar-based Deputy Director (DD) said fruit orchards would suffer losses running into crores of rupees if canals in the Abohar area are shut for maintenance from today till June 4.The DD said the scorching summer had already caused a serious dry spell, putting fruit plants under stress. “If the canal water supply is suspended for 10 days, farmers will suffer irreparable losses,” he wrote.Two factions of farmers came face to face over conflicting demands on the closure. While one group staged a protest against the scheduled shutdown, farmers from other villages demanded that the closure go ahead to facilitate cleaning.Farmer leaders — including Sukhmandar Singh, Sukhjinder Rajan, Sushil Sihag, and others — who reached Irrigation Department’s divisional office on Monday, raised slogans and argued that a canal closure at this juncture would cause water scarcity and heavy crop losses. They said the department should not take any decision without prior consultation.In contrast, farmers from other villages, including Usman Khera, launched a campaign in support of the closure. Farmer leader Pargat Singh and others said silt and weed accumulation in the canals was preventing adequate water from reaching tail-end areas. They said the canals should be shut for a few days for thorough cleaning to ensure equitable water supply to villages at the extreme ends of the network.Amid the escalating dispute, Sukhjit Singh, Executive Engineer of Irrigation Department, said discussions with farmers were ongoing and a decision based on mutual consensus would be reached shortly. He affirmed that the department’s objective was to provide adequate water to all farmers without discrimination.An agriculture science expert said kinnow production in Punjab has averaged around 12 lakh tonne annually for over a decade, with Abohar being the main contributor.