Pumps out of order, no water in fields

With all pumps of the country’s largest Ganges-Kopotakkho (GK) irrigation project out of order, farmers are in distress. Farmers in the southwest regions of Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah and Magura were provided irrigation water under this project. Most recently, water was supplied to four upazilas with only one pump. Even that has been shut down for the last two weeks, throwing over 100,000 farmers into a quandary at a time when the boro crop is to be sowed.

Water was provided under the GK project by means of three pumps. Two pumps were shut down for the past few years. With even the last pump going out of order on 19 February, farmers in the four upazilas of Kushtia Sadar, Mirpur, Chuadanga Sadar and Alamdanga are at a loss.

Many cultivators are unable to sow paddy due to the lack of water and the cropland of many farmers is arid and dry. Some are using shallow pumps as an alternative, pushing up paddy production costs 12 to 15 times.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Hayat Mahmud, said that with the pumps out of order, the farmers are suffering acutely in sowing the boro crop. The harvest may drop and the farmers are likely to face losses.

Concerned officials of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) cannot say when water supply will resume. Executive engineer of the BWDB Ganges-Kopotakkho main pump house in Bheramara, Mizanur Rahman, told Prothom Alo that all three pumps are out of order. The representatives of the farmers have been told to make their own arrangements for irrigation.

After a primary survey in 1951, the GK irrigation project was given approval in 1954. It began operating in 1962-63. BWDB officials say that initially was would be supplied round the clock for 10 months (15 January to 15 October) a year. The next two months were spent in maintenance work.

Under this irrigation project, water is supplied to 13 upazilas of Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah and Magura by means of the 193km main canal, 467 km secondary canals and 995km tertiary canals. There are 110,107 hectares of irrigable land under this project.

It was learnt from BWBD and agricultural officials that the project was basically initiated to address the water shortage for the aman crop. But that came into use for three crop seasons almost throughout the year. But with the water lever of the rover Padma falling, for the last three or four years the water supply to Kushtia and Chuadanga is kept normal only during the boro season. The sluice gates of the Magura and Jhenaidah canals are kept shut. The farmers said that if there is water in the main canal and the secondary canals, then the water in the tubewells and ponds in the surrounding areas remains normal.

If the level of the river Padma remains normal, each pump can supply 25,316.85 litres of water per second on average. Pumps 2and 3 of the three pumps have been out of order for the past few years. There were 12 more small pumps as alternatives, but those have been out or order since 2001.

According to sources involved in the project, water was supposed to have been supplied from 15 January this year to the canals. However, the water level in the river Padma had dropped then. Also, work on the construction of a bridge over the main canal at Bheramara had been underway. A large part of the canal had been filled with soil. From 1 February water was released through pump 1, but on 19 February at around 4:45 pm the pump went out of order. Now the supply of irrigation water it totally shut down.

Sources in the Department of Agricultural Extension say that at least 106,000 farmers of four upazilas in Kushtia and Chuadanga could cultivate the boro crop with water from the GK irrigation project. The farmers say that the boro crop needs the most irrigation. It needs irrigation starting from preparing the land to the emerging of the seedlings. Sometimes the land needs to be irrigated twice a day. They were preparing to cultivate the crop from January, but the water supply came to a sudden halt 19 after it started, leaving them high and dry.

Farmer Sheikh Raju of Battoil in Kushtia Sadar has been growing rice for over 15 years. He had taken preparations this time too, to grow rice on 1.5 bighas of land. However, he hasn’t been able to sow the crop as yet due to the lack of water.

Farmer of the same area, Abdullah, also spoke on 28 February about his predicament. He said, he has sowed paddy on 2 bighas of land 15 days ago, but is not getting water. He has had to spend a large sum of money on irrigating by means of deep tubewells.

According to the Chuadanga Department of Agricultural Extension, there are 6,500 hectares of land under the GK project in Alamdanga. Of this, 2,470 hectares land still lie uncultivated. Farmer Badrul Alam of the village Dauki in Alamdanga sowed paddy in six bighas of land when water came to the canal. He said, “No the paddy is drying up and dying due to the lack of water.”

Down the generations, farmer Rajab Ali of the village Houshpur in Alamdanga upazila has used the canal water to irrigate the land. When there was water in the canal, he sowed paddy on one bigha of land on 10 February. But he has not been getting water since 17 February. He has been forced to hire a shallow engine to irrigate the land. This sharecropper farmer said, “We have to pay 200 aka for the canal water. This time we have to give one maund of rice as rent for the shallow machine. We also have to spend 5000 taka of diesel. Then the landowner has to be given right maunds of rice. All this is very worrying.”

Field coordinator of the Alamdanga upazila farmers’ alliance, Sirajul Islam, says that as there is no water in the canals, the farmers will have to spend 6000 to 7000 taka on diesel and machine rent. He said many farmers are hesitant to grow paddy this time because of these added expenses. He said that the water supply must be resumed immediately to save thousands of farmers. If not, this will have a negative impact on the sector.”

Saying the local engineers will not be able to repair these pumps, the Bheramara pump house executive engineer Mizanur Rahman told Prothom Alo that Japanese company had set up these pumps. The company has been contacted but the problem is that these pumps are very old. These had been repaired by local engineers at one point of time.

Deputy chief extension officer of the irrigation project, Abdul Baten, told Prothom Alo, there will be problems at this time when the water level of Padma is low. The authorities cannot say when the pumps will resume functioning.  

* This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir