Rubber dam benefits Rajshahi farmers in crop production enormously

Farmers in Rajshahi region are cultivating various crops throughout the year as they are getting irrigation water due to installation of rubber dam.

Yeasin Ali, 54, a farmer in Kachari Koaliapara under Bagmara Upazila in the district, had to suffer a lot before installing the rubber dam as the river remained dry almost throughout the year.

But, at present, the situation has changed remarkably.

Also fishermen in these areas are earning their livelihood by fishing in the river for the whole year. Farmers Aminul Haque, Yasin Ali and Quddus of Kacharikoalipara said, now there is water in the river because of the rubber dam; and farmers along the river banks are cultivating various Rabi crops.

A fisherman, Jewel 48, said many ponds had been washed away due to heavy rainfall previously and the fishermen were seen netting fishes in the full water river.

But, now the rubber dam has become a blessing to them, he further said.

Job opportunities for thousands of people were also created as a result of the newly built embankment. Thousands of farmers and fishermen are getting benefits from the dam.

The rubber dam in the Baranai River has become a boon for Rajshahi farmers. Farmers in the region can now avail irrigation water from the embankment and the dam has made it possible.

The dam also eased the living and livelihood conditions of hundreds of thousands of people residing on both sides of the Baranai River.

Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) installed the dam in the Baranai River at Jagadishpur of Puthiya upazila in the district around three years ago, opening up fortunes for scores of people.

At present, they are cultivating around 15 types of crops and vegetables, including potato, brinjal, onion, and mustard, on around 5,000 hectares of char (river bed) lands in Manda, Bagmara, Naldanga, and Puthiya upazilas, utilising irrigation water accumulated by the rubber dam.

The vast tracts of land were brought under irrigation using 200 pumps installed in 20 canals and other adjacent areas on both sides of the river.

Shamsul Huda, Additional Chief Engineer of BMDA, said they built the 62-metre rubber dam at the cost of Tk 14.30 crore on the bank of the Baranai River, which is flowing through Bagmara and Naldanga upazilas.

Another part of the river passes through Manda, Mohanganj, Naohata, and Shilmaria Union of Puthia Upazila.

Due to the dam, the river is filled with water throughout the year. Thus, the dam has helped bring the lands adjacent to the river under irrigation facilities, Engineer Huda said.

The farmers are now cultivating crops three times by using this water, he added.

On the other hand, many domestic species of fish are found in the river. A few hundred people in the area are maintaining their livelihood by catching fish.

Shamsul Huda said water also remains in about 15 beels (water bodies), including Beel Kumari, Khaira Beel, and Mora Beel, throughout the year. The farmers are now getting water from the beels for cultivation.

Earlier, during the dry season, the river remained waterless. With the establishment of the dam, the level of underground water has increased. As a result, water is available in the tube wells of the area during the dry season.

BMDA Chairman Dr Muhammad Asaduzzaman said the dam project not only changed the farmers’ fate but also maintained the balance of the environment.

Terming the rubber dam project as an epoch-making initiative, he said emphasis should be given on expanding the scheme to boost production through bringing more other uncultivated lands under irrigation.

BMDA, the ever-largest irrigation-proving state-run entity in all 16 districts under Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions, will take the lead in increasing surface water use through promoting rainwater-accumulating technologies in the days to come, he added.

Dr Asad Zaman said around 1,080 kilometres of underground irrigation pipelines were constructed, aimed at reducing the loss of irrigation water by around forty percent in the Barind area.

“We’ve a plan to elevate surface water-based irrigation to thirty percent from the existing ten by 2030 to lessen the gradually mounting pressure on underground water,” he added.

Restrictions have been imposed on the further installation of deep-tube wells in drought-prone areas to discourage the extraction of underground

Jahangir Alam Khan, a development activist in the field of surface water irrigation, said the promotion of surface water irrigation instead of depending only on groundwater-based ones is very important for the region to mitigate water scarcity. (BSS)