Boro cultivation in 5 villages uncertain

Water scarcity may affect Boro cultivation this season on 700 acres of land in Sadar union of Kamalganj upazila.

Farmers in the affected area, spread out across five villages in Kamalganj Sadar union, said they were facing severe water shortage in Baliachhara canal, their only source of water for irrigation, as its water flow reduced drastically this season due to an ill-conceived sluice gate upstream.

Many of them finished preparation for Boro seedbeds, but they could not sow seeds there due to the water crisis, they also said. 

The location of the sluice gate was not set with careful planning as it sits amid barren land in the foothills, beyond the arable area in Baliachhara, claimed Mujahid Mia, a farmer from Kandigaon village. 

Mohan Singha, a farmer from Rastila village, said after making a seedbed for five acres of land that he had leased in the area for Boro cultivation, all his investment was at stake due to the water crisis.

Another farmer, Jogesh Biswas, from Bangaon village, said he was gripped by uncertainty after preparing a Boro seedbed for four acres of land. 

About a month ago, in an attempt to retain water, the farmers built a makeshift dam with bamboo in the Baliachhara canal near Kamalganj upazila headquarters, said farmer Saju Mia from Baliachhara.

But the dam was a failure as the canal dried up within a week, he added.

Farmer Sushanta Das, from Pashchim Kumrakapan village, said long time ago, the Water Development Board (WDB) had promised that they would do away with the existing sluice gate and construct a new one downstream so it can retain water for farmlands in the area.

But, unfortunately, the WDB did not live up to their promise, he also alleged.

Speaking with this correspondent, Kamalganj Union Parishad Member Solaiman Hossain Bhutto said hundreds of Boro farmers in Uttar Baligaon, Pashchim Kumrakapan, Rastila, Kandigaon and Bangaon villages along the banks of Baliachhara canal in the union have been hit hard with the poor irrigation system. 

Although the situation persisted for several years, the authorities did not pay heed to their repeated requests of providing an effective irrigation system in the area, he alleged. 

Contacted, Kamalganj Union Parishad Chairman Abdul Hannan said the new sluice gate that the farmers had been demanding would facilitate irrigation for Boro cultivation on 700 acres of land in the union.

WDB Executive Engineer Ranendra Sankar Chakrabarty said they would need to carry out a feasibility study before constructing a new sluice gate in the area.