The news that all pumps of the main pumphouse of the Ganges-Kopotakkho (GK) irrigation project at Bheramara of Kushtia are out of order is not bad news only for farmers but also the agriculture sector. Simultaneously farmers of 16 districts in Rajshahi and Rangpur under the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) are unable to cultivate due to water crisis.
According to the Prothom Alo investigation, water was supplied by three pumps under the GK irrigation project. Two pumps were closed for several years. Now the only pump which was in operation has been closed on 19 February. As a result, the farmers in Kushtia sadar, Mirpur, Chuadanga sadar and Alamdanga are facing a crisis. Many farmers are unable to cultivate paddy due to the water crisis. Land of many farmers has developed cracks due to drought. Some have arranged alternative irrigation with shallow machines. As a result, the cost of production of paddy has increased by 12 to 15 times.
Concerned officials at the Water Development Board cannot say when the water supply will become normal. As water levels in the Padma receded, water supply in Kushtia and Chuadanga has been kept normal during the Boro season for the last three to four years. The sluice gates of canals in Magura and Jhenaidah were also kept shut . Agriculture extension department sources said 106,000 farmers in four upazilas under Kushtia and Chuadanga would cultivate Boro under the GK irrigation project.
A sharecropper at Housepur village of Alamdanga upazila said, "Tk 200 has to be spent for canal water. One maund of paddy has to be given as rent for a shallow machine this year. Diesel worth Tk 5000 has to be bought. Eight maunds of paddy have to be given to land owners. I'm worried about the matter."
This is not a concern for this farmer alone. All farmers under the project face the same crisis. There is little water in the Padma. The main canal in Bheramara has been filled up in the name of constructing a bridge. As a result, farmers nearby are being deprived of irrigation water. We are not against the operation of the communication system. But that must not be done by filling up a canal.
Cultivation in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj is being hampered as water from deep tubewells under the BMDA is not being lifted. Groundwater has been receding in the area for a long time. Once there was 160 feet aquifer and this has decreased to 6 feet. Two Santal farmers committed suicide for failure to get irrigation water a few years ago.
The farmers are not only in trouble in this region but also in other regions. During the Boro season, the officials come and do. But there is no sustainable plan to ensure availability of water in the rivers and canals under the agriculture projects as well as to hold on to water level of ground water. This is unfortunate that the pump house will remain out of operation as one irrigation pump has become old. Why wouldn't the government install a new pump in place of the old one?
The government's negligence towards the agriculture is not acceptable as this sector is not only helping sustain the economy but also supplying food for 170 million people. Closed pumps should be made operational and farmers under the BMDA should be provided with irrigation facilities.