Katal village locals unable to plant paddy in absence of water

By Our Correspondent,Dadeldhura, July,1:The National Paddy Day, which is celebrated by the government on 15th day of the Nepali month of Asar, was celebrated by the agricultural knowledge centres of each district, the agricultural units of the municipality and other associations and organistions on Saturday.

However, the farmers of Katal village of Inner Madhes could not plant paddy in their field as the underground irrigation project has remained unmaintained for a year.

Due to lack of sufficient rainfall in Dadeldhura along with Sudurpashchim Province, most of the fields remain barren.

Khemraj Paneru, chief of Agricultural Knowledge Centre, Dadeldhura, has said that in the fields of Dadeldhura, where around 80 per cent paddy plantation was done by Asar 15, only about 35 per cent paddy plantation has been completed this year.

Farmers have not been able to plant paddy because of the breakdown of the underground irrigation project constructed in Katal village of Jogbudha, Inner Madhes, which is considered to be the storehouse of food production of this district. 

“There has not been enough rain. Due to the breakdown of the underground irrigation project built five years ago, the farmers were not able to plant paddy,” said Paneru. 

Locals complained that the project has been stalled due to the damage of the motor installed in the pipe buried in the ground to draw the underground irrigation water.

Local farmer Chakra Mal said that because the damaged motor was not changed, the people of Katal village were deprived of irrigation. 

After the irrigation project was damaged, more than 50 bighas of fields of the area could not be planted. 

The irrigation project was completed in the fiscal year 2018/19 at a cost of about Rs. 5 million of the Underground Irrigation Development Division Office under Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development of Sudurpaschim Province.

He said that the motor was damaged after the paddy planting season of last year. Mal said, so far, no budget has been allocated for repairing the electric motor from any agency. 

He complained that due to the lack of rain in winter season, the production of wheat was not good. “Due to the failure of the irrigation project during the dry season, paddy planting could not be done, thus creating a situation of food crisis,” he said.

Ward President Bishram Singh Bohara said that despite initiatives from the ward and municipality for the maintenance of the project, no budget was allocated. 

According to him, about Rs. 500,000 is required for the maintenance of the irrigation project. There are no companies to repair and install the motor of this type of irrigation project in Dadeldhura district. 

He said that for the purchase of the motor and for the repair of the pipe, the underground pipe and the vehicle with the equipment to remove the motor had to be hired and brought from Kailali, so the repair could not be done.