Anisul Islam focuses on optimum use of water in irrigation

Water Resources Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud stressed on Wednesday the need for the optimum use of water in irrigation as its demand in the country is growing fast, reports UNB.
"Only 30 years back, we used to think that there would be no water scarcity in our country as water was everywhere…but now demand of water is increasing," he told a meeting at a city hotel.
Water Resources Planning Organisation (WARPO) under the Water Resources Ministry and 2030 Water Resources Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of World Bank Group jointly organised the Multi-Stakeholder Engagement on Water Resources Management in Bangladesh.
Anisul Islam said there are over extraction of groundwater in Barind area and other parts of the country to meet water demand for irrigation, contributing to rapid drop in groundwater level.
He said groundwater layer is dropping fast in Dhaka city as about 80 per cent of water supplied by DWASA is comes from underground.
"Not only Dhaka, but also rural people depend on groundwater because surface water is very costly," he added.
About the rampant use of water in irrigation, the Water Resources Minister said farmers frequently use more water in agriculture than is required, but in many cases it is possible to produce same crops using l0 times less water in irrigation.