Teesta Irrigation Project

24 January 2009, 18:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Nilphamari

Breach in embankment of Teesta Irrigation Project damaged crops on about 6,000 acres of land in three villages of Kishoreganj upazila of the district yesterday. Local sources said the embankment of Rangpur main canal of the irrigation project was damaged at Madhya Rajeeb Chengmari point of Kishoreganj upazila at around 6:00am. Upazila agriculture office sources said Boro paddy, seedbeds, potato, tobacco, maize, mustard seeds were damaged due to onrush of water. Kishoreganj Union Parishad Chairman A T M Anisur Rahman said several thousand farmers of Goda, Chengmari and Madhya Rajeeb villages have been affected and roads of those villages partially damaged. Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) sources said the breach in the embankment developed as some farmers illegally installed hollow plastic pipes to get water from the canal for irrigating their lands. Farmers alleged though the canal is passing beside their agricultural lands, they have no way to get water legally. Number of outlets through which the water of the canal comes out to their lands is inadequate, they said. BWDB sources said they opened the gates of a regulator of the canal to reduce onrush of water. They also closed the main gates of the canal at the upstream to prevent the water flowing through the canal. Nural Islam, BWDB executive engineer of Nilphamari division, said they will repair the damaged portion of the embankment soon. The newly elected Kishoreganj upazila chairman, upazila nirbahi officer and high officials of BDWB visited the spot and assured the affected farmers of all possible help.