Irrigation pumps being installed next to rivers, canals in haors

There is a crisis of safe and drinkable water across the world. Surface water sources, in particular, are being severely polluted for various reasons.

As a result, groundwater has become the main source of safe drinking water. However, groundwater sources are also facing several threats, including the continuous decline of water levels, arsenic contamination, and land subsidence.

For decades, the agriculture sector has been a major consumer of groundwater. In order to increase rice production, highlands as well as haors and beels have been brought under boro cultivation. However, these lands are generally located far from rivers, canals, and beels.

For this reason, boro cultivation is carried out through irrigation using deep and shallow tube wells.
Even in haor lands that are located next to rivers or canals, irrigation is now being carried out using groundwater through shallow tube wells.

In the past, these lands were irrigated using surface water sources such as rivers, canals, and beels.

Low-lift pumps (LLPs) were installed in rivers or canals to supply water through long-distance channels, irrigating thousands of acres of land. This practice is still seen in many places.

In many haor areas, shallow tube wells are now being installed near rivers or canals to extract groundwater for irrigation.

Recently, in the haors of Itna and Karimganj, shallow tube wells have been installed within 100-150 meters of rivers or canals for irrigation purposes.

In the Baribari haor of Itna, shallow tube wells are being installed within 150 meters of the Dhanu River and its branch, Katkhal, to irrigate agricultural land.

A similar situation has been observed on the east bank of Chamta River port in Karimganj, near the Nagchinni River.

However, there is a ban on extracting groundwater by installing deep or shallow tube wells within one kilometer of a river or canal.

The President of the Upazila Irrigation Committee and also the UNO of Itna, Mohammad Raihanul Islam, could not be reached for comment as his phone was not answered.

Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Executive Engineer (Minor Irrigation) of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) in Kishoreganj, said that there is a restriction on installing deep or shallow tube wells within one kilometer of rivers or canals for groundwater extraction.

However, LLPs and deep tube wells are regulated by the Minor Irrigation Department, while shallow tube wells are controlled by Upazila-based Irrigation Committees. He added that the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is also included in those committees.

According to the information he provided, there are currently 83 deep tube wells and 261 low-lift pumps (LLPs) in the district under the control of the Minor Irrigation Department. According to farm sources, there are currently 21,243 shallow tube wells in the district.

Dr. Sadiqur Rahman, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Kishoreganj, told The New Nation, “Although we are included in the Irrigation Committee, we are not called when it comes to granting permission for irrigation machines.

Since the Agriculture Department focuses mainly on increasing rice production, irrigation issues often receive less attention. However, in the future, I will discuss the matter with the Irrigation Committee to ensure that no one installs underground irrigation pumps within one kilometer of surface water bodies.”