Boro production may be hampered by power crisis
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Our Correspondent
BRAHMANBARIA, Mar 28: Farmers in Brahmanbaria district are now hesitating with their Boro seedlings for fear of not getting proper irrigation as frequent load-shedding began on the eve of the season. Most of the farmers have to depend on diesel-run shallow machines and have made pumps instead of power driven pumps for irrigation in the district. The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Brahmanbaria, has taken a scheme to bring 111470 hectares of land against the production target of 422478 metric tonnes under Boro cultivation in nine upazilas with an output target of 386800 metric tonnes. In the Brahmanbaria region, a total of 16997 irrigation machines are in operation of which 352 are deep tubewells, 3631 shallow tubewells and 3758 low-lift pumps. Some 130 MW of power is needed to keep the pumps running in the boro season, reliable sources said. But the power department hinted that they are not in a position to supply more than 50 to 60 MW electricity during the current Boro season. Farmers are using leg-driven tube-wells, locally known as Dheki-pump, to irrigate their land as frequent load-shedding in the last boro season made them depended on it. The Upazilawise break-up of cultivation target is as follows: Sadar 12980 hectares, Sarail 1600 hectares, Kasba 13040 hectares, Nabinagar 16950 hectares, Bancharampur 9650 hectares, Nasirnagar 18745 hectares, Akhaura 5630 hectares, Ashugonj 5065 hectares and Bijaynagar 13410 hectares. Farmers cultivating paddy of hybrid, ufsi and local varieties. Moreover, cultivation is also being hampered due to lack of electricity supply as the authority stopped giving new connections since long. The Boro cultivation is also being seriously hampered in the district due to fall in the ground water level, drying up of major rivers, erratic power supply and scarcity of fertilizers. Kushtia Our correspondent from Kushtia reports: The Boro cultivation target may not be achieved due to water crisis and a massive cultivation of tobacco in the district. According to sources the farmers of Mirpur and Bheramara upazilas show their interest more to cultivate tobacco as they find it more profitable than other crops. It is known that the farmers of the areas did not till at least 4 hundred acres of land due to tobacco cultivation. The Minister for Water Resources Romesh Chandra Sen said in a meeting on October 1, 2010, while he was visiting GK project in Bheramara that the government would not allow the farmers to cultivate tobacco in land of GK irrigation project. The farmers of the areas did not pay any attention to minister's appeal as they were lured by different tobacco companies. As a result the food security has gone under threat in the areas. When talked to the executive engineer of Water Development Board in Kushtia Mosharaf Hossain said it was not his responsibility to look into the matter. The Agricultural officer in Bheramara upazilla said the production of Boro cultivation will be reduced this year as 4 hundred acres of land has been used for tobacco cultivation. At least 2 thousand and 2 hundred acres of land had been cultivated for crops last year but this year only one thousand and 8 hundred acres of land has been cultivated as for Boro. On the other hand the farmers of Mirpur upazilla said the GK authority failed to supply water through the canal in proper time. As a result the farmers face problem to cultivate their land three times in the year under GK irrigation project. The cultivation is being hampered due to water crisis.
BRAHMANBARIA, Mar 28: Farmers in Brahmanbaria district are now hesitating with their Boro seedlings for fear of not getting proper irrigation as frequent load-shedding began on the eve of the season. Most of the farmers have to depend on diesel-run shallow machines and have made pumps instead of power driven pumps for irrigation in the district. The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Brahmanbaria, has taken a scheme to bring 111470 hectares of land against the production target of 422478 metric tonnes under Boro cultivation in nine upazilas with an output target of 386800 metric tonnes. In the Brahmanbaria region, a total of 16997 irrigation machines are in operation of which 352 are deep tubewells, 3631 shallow tubewells and 3758 low-lift pumps. Some 130 MW of power is needed to keep the pumps running in the boro season, reliable sources said. But the power department hinted that they are not in a position to supply more than 50 to 60 MW electricity during the current Boro season. Farmers are using leg-driven tube-wells, locally known as Dheki-pump, to irrigate their land as frequent load-shedding in the last boro season made them depended on it. The Upazilawise break-up of cultivation target is as follows: Sadar 12980 hectares, Sarail 1600 hectares, Kasba 13040 hectares, Nabinagar 16950 hectares, Bancharampur 9650 hectares, Nasirnagar 18745 hectares, Akhaura 5630 hectares, Ashugonj 5065 hectares and Bijaynagar 13410 hectares. Farmers cultivating paddy of hybrid, ufsi and local varieties. Moreover, cultivation is also being hampered due to lack of electricity supply as the authority stopped giving new connections since long. The Boro cultivation is also being seriously hampered in the district due to fall in the ground water level, drying up of major rivers, erratic power supply and scarcity of fertilizers. Kushtia Our correspondent from Kushtia reports: The Boro cultivation target may not be achieved due to water crisis and a massive cultivation of tobacco in the district. According to sources the farmers of Mirpur and Bheramara upazilas show their interest more to cultivate tobacco as they find it more profitable than other crops. It is known that the farmers of the areas did not till at least 4 hundred acres of land due to tobacco cultivation. The Minister for Water Resources Romesh Chandra Sen said in a meeting on October 1, 2010, while he was visiting GK project in Bheramara that the government would not allow the farmers to cultivate tobacco in land of GK irrigation project. The farmers of the areas did not pay any attention to minister's appeal as they were lured by different tobacco companies. As a result the food security has gone under threat in the areas. When talked to the executive engineer of Water Development Board in Kushtia Mosharaf Hossain said it was not his responsibility to look into the matter. The Agricultural officer in Bheramara upazilla said the production of Boro cultivation will be reduced this year as 4 hundred acres of land has been used for tobacco cultivation. At least 2 thousand and 2 hundred acres of land had been cultivated for crops last year but this year only one thousand and 8 hundred acres of land has been cultivated as for Boro. On the other hand the farmers of Mirpur upazilla said the GK authority failed to supply water through the canal in proper time. As a result the farmers face problem to cultivate their land three times in the year under GK irrigation project. The cultivation is being hampered due to water crisis.