Flooding to be removed; crop, fish production to increase

Staff Reporter, Sirajganj :

The work of re-excavating the 27 and a half km Bhadravati Canal under LGED’s Sustainable Small Scale Water Resources Development Project in Tarashe, Sirajganj, where Chalan Bill situated, is at its final stage. Meanwhile, 80 percent excavation of South Bhadravati Canal and North Bhadravati Canal has been completed. It is the hope of those concerned, including the agriculture department, that the waterlogging will be removed and the crops will increase, the farmers will benefit by being saved from the early floods.
According to related sources, since the two canals of South Bhadravati and Uttara Bhadravati are located in the Chalanbil-dominated lower area of Tarash upazila, most of the water of Bogra district and the water of the surrounding area of the respective canal flows through these two canals and falls into the Besani river between Chalanbil. Due to water flowing through this canal in the two districts, the farmers face financial loss as the arable crops are inundated across the canal and the cultivated crops are submerged during the pre-monsoon floods.
Because of this, the affected farmers joined the movement to demand the rescue and re-digging of the canal. In view of this demand, in the financial year 2022-23, LGED took the initiative to re-excavate about 27 km canal from Chowdhurbari Jame Masjid of Baruhas Union of Tarash Upazila to Ranirhat Bridge of Talam Union by reducing the pressure on underground water and bringing it under irrigation.
According to the sources of LGED, in the financial year 2022-23, the digging of 27 and a half kilometers of canal was started in Tarash upazila at a cost of Tk 4 crore 17 lakh. Already 80 percent of the project has been completed. Earlier the last two canals were dug in FY 201-14. Once the canal is re-excavated, about 1,550 hectares of arable land will come under cultivation. One-crop land will be converted into three-crop land and waterlogging will be eliminated. By doing this, about 2500 metric tons of additional crops will be produced and about 3000 farmers will benefit. Canal re-dredging work is being implemented through 42 LCS groups with members of Water Management Cooperative Society of Bangladesh Cooperative Directorate in coordination with local beneficiaries.
In this context, farmers Arif, Abdus Sobahan and Abdus Samad of Nagarpara village of Tarash Upazila said that since the North and South Bhadravati canals have been filled for a long time, the arable land is often waterlogged. So we can grow only one to two crops. Once the digging of the two canals is completed, our long-standing expectations will be fulfilled.
Tarash Upazila Agriculture Officer Abdullah Al Mamun said that a part of Tarash Upazila’s current account is submerged in water during some time of the year. This deprives the farmer of one crop of the year. This problem will be resolved once the re-excavation of both the Bhadravati canals is completed. As a result the farmer will benefit financially by cultivating three crops. On the other hand, Tarash Upazila Agriculture Officer said, once the Bhadravati canal re-excavation is completed, the production of various kinds of delicious fish of local species will increase in the area.
Executive Engineer of LGED Sirajganj, Sofiqul Islam said that under LGED’s sustainable small scale water resources development project, the 27 and a half kilometer canal excavation work is in the final stage. Already 23 km of canals have been excavated. When the canal is re-excavated, around 1,550 hectares of uncultivated land will come under cultivation. One-crop land will be converted into three-crop land and waterlogging will be eliminated. We expect that 2 thousand 450 metric tons of additional crops will be produced by this.