Solar powered irrigation : A new light of hope for farmers in Rangpur region
Abdur Rahman Mintu, Rangpur :
Sources of Barendra Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) said that due to the excessive increase in the production cost of various crops, with the aim of introducing affordable and low-cost alternative irrigation facilities, an irrigation system has been introduced in Rangpur region by extracting water through solar power as farmer and environment friendly.As a result, peace has returned to the farmers. BMDA has undertaken a program to set up 50 eco-friendly solar-powered draw well in Rangpur region with the aim of creating opportunities for producing low-water-intensive crops through the installation of solar-powered draw wells. As part of this initiative, 34 draw wells have already been set up in 5 districts of Rangpur region.
Among them, 6 in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur, 4 in Pirganj, 3 in Sadar upazila, 2 in Badarganj and 1 each in Pirgacha and Taraganj upazilas. 3 in Sadar upazila of Nilphamari district and 1 each in Syedpur and Domar upazilas. 2 in Rajarhat Upazila of Kurigram District. 2 in Sadar upazila of Lalmonirhat district and 1 each in Hatibandha and Patgram upazilas. 2 solar powered water heaters have already been installed in Gobindganj, Palashbari and Sadullapur upazilas of Gaibandha district.
The remaining draw well will be installed by next June of the current financial year. As a result, farmers are able to irrigate the land at a nominal cost. In this, on the one hand, the cost of production of the farmer’s crops is greatly reduced and the profit is increased. On the other hand, optimum use of surface water and conservation of rain water is protecting the balance of the environment.Under the program, more than 700 bighas of land in the district has been brought under irrigation under the initiative of BMDA. More than one and a half thousand vegetable farmers have benefited from this. Through this, revolutionary income generation opportunities have been created in the agricultural economy of the farmers of this region.According to BMDA sources, four draw well have been constructed in the famous Mithapukur upazila of the district in the financial year 2020-21 for vegetable cultivation.
Ashraf Hossain, a beneficiary farmer of this upazila, said that last season, 60 percent of his land was cultivated with early varieties of potatoes. Before the construction of draw well, it used to cost 800 taka to irrigate once. However, he irrigated twice by using draw well at a cost of only 2 hundred taka.
Draw well operator Belal said that after getting the irrigation facility of this method, it costs 400 taka to irrigate one acre of beans three times. Earlier, it cost TK. 6,000 to irrigate once. In that ratio, the total cost was 1 thousand 8 hundred taka. 1 thousand 2 hundred rupees have been saved here.
Habibur Rahman Khan, project director of Barendra Multipurpose Development Authority’s EIARP project and supervising engineer of Rangpur circle, said that under this program, each well has been dug 120 feet deep and “submersible pump” and 84 RCC rings have been installed 62 feet below the well. Each draw well is operated with the help of 8 solar panels of 5 KW.A 3000 liter tank has been installed on a tower to store water from solar powered pumps under the Irrigation Extension Project for optimal use of surface water and rainwater conservation.
25 bighas of land is designed for irrigation with the help of one well, but due to the huge demand, the farmers of the command area are getting the opportunity to irrigate more of this land. The irrigation system of draw well has turned out to be 100% eco-friendly as the water is extracted through solar power and rainwater harvesting system.In this, the benefited farmers have reduced the cost of crop production and the profit has increased a lot.
