BSS, Rajshahi :
Agricultural experts at a meeting here have stressed the need for using more surface water for irrigation purposes saying this could be vital means of lessening the gradually mounting pressure on groundwater table in vast Barind Tract.
They viewed there is enormous scopes of increasing water reservoir through excavating and re-excavating derelict ponds and canals together with bringing water from rivers after installing pipelines.
They were addressing a pipeline installation meeting on Kasimpur AK Fazlul Haque High School playground under Godagari upazila of the district yesterday.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) organized the programme in association with its project titled “Irrigation Programme through Surface Water Augmentation”.
Omor Faruque Chowdhury, MP, attended and addressed the meeting as chief guest with Upazila Nirbahi Officer Zahid Newaz in the chair.
BMDA Chairman Dr Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Executive Director Engineer Abdur Rashid also spoke. Superintending Engineer Shamsul Huda told the meeting that the project is being implemented in eight upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts at a cost of around Taka 41.22 crore.
Requisite number of pumps, pontoons and pipelines are being established in different points of Padma, Mohananda and Atrai rivers for transferring the river-water to canals and farm lands.
More than 30 kilometers derelict canals are being excavated in phases besides construction of seven submerged pipes for creating surface water reservoir. Around 1.23 lakh meters underground upvc pipelines will be commissioned to enhance the irrigation efficiency. At least 117 power-driven low lift pumps will be set up for using the conserved water in the re-excavated canals for irrigation purposes.
It has provision of transplanting 80,000 saplings of fruit, forest and herbal trees on both sides of the canals that will ultimately help reduce carbon emission at a substantial level and that is very important to face the adverse impact of climate change in the vast Barind Tract.
Besides, it will be possible to produce 4,000 metric tonnes of fish worth Tk 90 million and rearing of 50 million ducks annually.
Project Director Shamsul Huda said there are huge ponds and canals in Barind area comprising 25 upazilas of the aforesaid three districts and if those were re- excavated properly all the farming lands could be brought under irrigation with the conserved water round the year.
The retained water could easily be used for supplementary irrigation of Aman paddy, wheat, pulse, oil seeds and vegetables cultivation along with pisciculture and duck farming.
On successful completion of the project by December, 2017, it will help produce about 37,800 metric tonnes of food through providing irrigation to 3780 hectares of land from the conserved water sources annually, he added.
Agricultural experts at a meeting here have stressed the need for using more surface water for irrigation purposes saying this could be vital means of lessening the gradually mounting pressure on groundwater table in vast Barind Tract.
They viewed there is enormous scopes of increasing water reservoir through excavating and re-excavating derelict ponds and canals together with bringing water from rivers after installing pipelines.
They were addressing a pipeline installation meeting on Kasimpur AK Fazlul Haque High School playground under Godagari upazila of the district yesterday.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) organized the programme in association with its project titled “Irrigation Programme through Surface Water Augmentation”.
Omor Faruque Chowdhury, MP, attended and addressed the meeting as chief guest with Upazila Nirbahi Officer Zahid Newaz in the chair.
BMDA Chairman Dr Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Executive Director Engineer Abdur Rashid also spoke. Superintending Engineer Shamsul Huda told the meeting that the project is being implemented in eight upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts at a cost of around Taka 41.22 crore.
Requisite number of pumps, pontoons and pipelines are being established in different points of Padma, Mohananda and Atrai rivers for transferring the river-water to canals and farm lands.
More than 30 kilometers derelict canals are being excavated in phases besides construction of seven submerged pipes for creating surface water reservoir. Around 1.23 lakh meters underground upvc pipelines will be commissioned to enhance the irrigation efficiency. At least 117 power-driven low lift pumps will be set up for using the conserved water in the re-excavated canals for irrigation purposes.
It has provision of transplanting 80,000 saplings of fruit, forest and herbal trees on both sides of the canals that will ultimately help reduce carbon emission at a substantial level and that is very important to face the adverse impact of climate change in the vast Barind Tract.
Besides, it will be possible to produce 4,000 metric tonnes of fish worth Tk 90 million and rearing of 50 million ducks annually.
Project Director Shamsul Huda said there are huge ponds and canals in Barind area comprising 25 upazilas of the aforesaid three districts and if those were re- excavated properly all the farming lands could be brought under irrigation with the conserved water round the year.
The retained water could easily be used for supplementary irrigation of Aman paddy, wheat, pulse, oil seeds and vegetables cultivation along with pisciculture and duck farming.
On successful completion of the project by December, 2017, it will help produce about 37,800 metric tonnes of food through providing irrigation to 3780 hectares of land from the conserved water sources annually, he added.
