Drastic cut in Teesta irrigation project area

Boro farming threatened for poor water flow

16 March 2009, 18:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Nilphamari

A woman takes her cattle through the dried up bed of the Teesta that sees drastic fall in flow in the upstream of the river's barrage during the dry season. Photo: STAR

Drastic fall in the flow of Teesta River in the ongoing Boro season threatens irrigation in vast paddy fields under Teesta irrigation project in Nilphamari, Rangpur and Dinajpur districts. Faced with the situation, authorities this year have brought down the target of irrigation under the project to 40,000 hectares of land against 60,000 hectares last year, Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) sources said. As in last year, they have introduced 'rationing system' under which water is supplied to project canals by rotation for irrigating the Boro lands. But the situation is worse now as flow of the river is only 810 to 850 cusec in the middle of March against 1500 to 2000 cusec flow last year. Around 4,000 cusec water flow would be needed in the dry season for smooth irrigation in around 60,000 hectares of lands. The project has infrastructure to irrigate up to 1,11,000 hectares of land if there is sufficient flow in the Teesta. This situation has arisen due to unilateral water withdrawal by India at its Gajal Doba barrage point in 100km upstream from Teesta barrage, said experts and BWDB sources. India constructed Gajal Doba barrage in 1987. At many points in Bangladesh part, the river has now turned into a streamlet with water depths as low as 10 centimetres. In the dried up river bed farmers are cultivating Boro, maize and other crops. Even cattle are grazing in the chars that emerged in the upstream within about 400 metres from the Teesta barrage. In the 'restricted zone' declared by WDB, stretching 100 feet in the upstream from the barrage, the authorities managed through dredging some 12-feet water depth for safety of the barrage, sources said. Bangladesh is getting the small quantity of water that is seeping through the Gajal Doba barrage, which is about 33 metres higher than the Teesta barrage area, said a WDB high official at Dalia division. The authorities are now providing irrigation to farmers through rationing system. “We had to wait for about 15 days to get our next rationing turn. During the long interval, our paddy plants turn reddish, cracks develop on lands and massive pest attack occurs,” Mizanur Rahman, a farmer of Chanderhaat village in Sadar upazila, said. During visit to different areas under the project, this correspondent saw farmers irrigating their lands with diesel-run shallow pumps or lifting water from wells using manual labour. Demanding adequate irrigation from the project canals, farmers recently put barricades on roads at Gangachara in Rangpur district and Chirir Bandar in Dinajpur district. When contacted, Dalia division Executive Engineer Atikur Rahman said, “Due to low flow of water in Teesta River, we have to reduce the irrigation area in the Boro season. Sharing of Teesta water between Bangladesh and India is the only way to solve the problem. But it is a matter of political settlement.”