Reservoir of irrigation project being leased for fish cultivation
Move to hamper water supply to vast farmland in Nilphamari
A canal, to be fed by the reservoir of Buri Teesta Irrigation Project in Jaldhaka upazila of Nilphamari district, remains without water as the sluice gate of the reservoir has been shut to make the water body ready for fish cultivation.Photo: STAR
The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) is leasing out the vast water reservoir of the Buri Teesta Irrigation Project in Jaldhaka upazila of Nilphamari district for fish cultivation, much to the worry of thousands of farmers. Thousands of farmers will be deprived of irrigation facilities due to the decision, local farmers said. To lease the reservoir for fish farming, nine firms dropped tenders on January 11 and Tusco Resources Limited of Gazipur district became the highest bidder, said Nazir Ahmed, executive engineer of BWDB in Nilphamari. Work order in favour of the lessee is under process and they will pay a total of Tk 2 crore 25 lakh in ten years, he said. Initially the project was drawn for providing irrigation facilities on 29,000 acres of land in Dimla, Domar and Jaldhaka upazilas. The chairman of the then East Pakistan WAPDA, GA Madani inaugurated the project at Kaliganj village of Jaldhaka upazila in 1963. It included a major barrage on the Buri Teesta River, a 36,696-feet-long main canal and four branch canals measuring a total of 1,83,600 feet length. A vast water reservoir was also constructed on 1,270 acres of land. The construction work of all kinds of infrastructure was completed in 1983. Till 1990, 18000 acres of land were brought under irrigation from water of the reservoir, said BWDB sources and beneficiaries. But in 1991, the BWDB declared that the project would not yield desired result due to 'faults' in planning of the project. Subsequently, the irrigation area was drastically cut down and it has come down to only 136 acres this year. During a visit to the project on Friday, this correspondent found that the canals are almost dried up although sufficient water existed in the reservoir. Farmers under this project were seen irrigating boro fields in traditional ways. Instead of making arrangements to make the project effective, the divisional office of BWDB in Nilphamari has prepared to lease out the 1217-acre reservoir to Tusco Resources Limited for fish cultivation at a nominal cost, said several farmers. Sources in BWDB in Nilphamari division referring to the BWDB decision said that the width of the main irrigational canal was abnormally large. There is also misplanning in making the reservoir as water of the reservoir does not flow towards the farmers lands; rather it comes to the reservoir from their lands. "The reservoir should be excavated to make the irrigation project functioning. In the ongoing boro season this project would provide irrigation facilities to 136 acres of land," said Golam Sarwar, sub-divisional engineer of BWDB's Jaldhaka office. It is not acceptable to use the water reservoir of the irrigation project for fish cultivation, said Golam Mostofa, president of Movement for Implementation of Buri Teesta Irrigation Project. He demanded that BWDB authorities take immediate steps to remove all the obstacles to making the project effective for the greater interest of the farmers.
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