Faulty rubber dams hamper boro cultivation in Gazipur, Mymensingh

A faulty rubber dam built at Urahati point on the Khiru in Bhaluka, Mymensingh. PHOTO: STAR

The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) constructed the two rubber dams, one at Urahati point on the Khiru in Bhaluka upazila here and the other at Golaghat point on the Matikata in Sreepur upazila, Gazipur.

The three crore taka project was aimed at producing an additional 2,300 metric tons (MT) of crops on 400 hectares of land in dry season.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Initially the dams were constructed to contain sufficient water upto a height of maximum 12 feet, needed for irrigation in the dry season. But farmers in the upstream faced problem in boro cultivation due to water logging in dam area last December.

Workers of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in two upazilas removed water by one foot from the waterlogged area but in vain. The farmers could not make up their losses.

Moreover, because of siltation in the upstream of the rivers, the quantity of water was reduced in the dam areas. As a result, both the rivers dried up creating cracks at various points. In such a situation the farmers could not operate their power pumps to irrigate their fields during the dry season.

Abdur Razzaq, a farmer at Urahati village told this correspondent that before construction of the dams, the flow of water was smooth during the dry season. He used the river water to irrigate lands.

Farmers have expressed their opinion that if the rivers are dredged upto four or five feet at upstream, then the normal flow of the rivers in the dry season will be restored making the rubber dams effective.