Solar irrigation introduced

A front page news item published on March 18 in a local daily is an eye opener for rural farm irrigation. Instead of usual diesel engine-driven pumps, solar power is used to drive those. This should gradually replace the water pumps driven by diesel engines fuelled by imported diesel. We should undertake an urgent programme to have voltaic panels supplying power for running the irrigation pumps using free sunlight as a power source. This programme brooks no delay and the government must take this forward urgently, so that it helps rural farmers.

This important prospect must be well publicised across the country. All initiatives must be taken to ensure that this method is immediately adopted. The government should and must offer maximum duty rebate on the import of the voltaic panels needed for setting up such irrigation facility, based on electricity from sunlight.

Large NGOs like the BRAC, the Grameen and others should take up this easy method of irrigation across the country. The sooner we go for this, the better for us. The existing diesel engines should be there, so that the irrigation pumps are decoupled from the electric motor and then driven by pulley and belt drive by the diesel engine. This will ensure irrigation round the year as needed, depending on the weather. The net gain will be the reduction in the demand for diesel fuel for irrigation. This will save a lot of foreign exchange for the country.

Engr. S. A. Mansoor

Dhaka.

sam@dhakacom.com