GAIBANDHA, Feb 04 (BSS): Farming of Boro paddy, a high-value crop, is progressing fast in the project command areas of the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) in the district during the current season.
Office sources said the BMDA set a target to bring a total of 9,525 hectares of land under Boro cultivation this year with the production target of 57,150 tonnes of paddy providing irrigation facilities to the farmers at low cost.
The farmers of the district are now busy to prepare the land and transplant the seedlings raised from the seedbed and nurture the transplanted seedlings in the fields following the suggestions of the field level officials of DAE to get desired production.
To ensure the supply irrigation water to the paddy land smoothly, a total of 459 electricity run deep tube wells and 45 low lift pumps (LLPs) of the authority were kept fully functional in the command areas of the district.
To check about 40 per cent water wastage in the faulty earth drains, to use the lifted water properly and to save 17 per cent arable land for drain construction, UPVC pipes were also installed under the ground to supply water from most of the deep tube wells to Boro land, said, SM Mizanur Rahman, assistant engineer of BMDA, Gaibandha Zone.
Selim Parvez, a Boro paddy grower of Madnerpara village under Fulchhari upazila said, "Generally, the farmers are to pay Tk 1,500 to Tk 2,000 against a bigha of land to purchase irrigation water from the local providers who operate their power or diesel run shallow machines".
On the contrary, the farmers of BMDA command areas are to pay only TK 900-1000 to the authority on irrigation charge coupon system to get irrigation water for the same one bigha of land from the BMDA operated deep tube wells, he also said.
All the farmers of BMDA command areas of seven upazilas in the district expressed their deep satisfaction over the irrigation activities being implemented by the authority since 2005 here.
Talking to the the news agency, executive engineer of BMDA Azazul Islam said over 50 per cent Boro farming had already been completed in the command areas of the district.
