Flood-damaged dam remains unrepaired, farmers worried

By Yadav Raj Puri, Rautahat, March 3: Farmers in Gaidatar of Chandrapur Municipality–3, Rautahat, have been facing continuing hardship as a dam constructed for irrigation was destroyed a year ago and has not yet been reconstructed.

Under the Gaidatar Irrigation Project, modern concrete canals have already been extended from the Chadi River to various villages.

However, the dam built to store water, which serves as the principal structure of the project, was washed away a year ago and has not been rebuilt, because of which farmers have been adversely affected.

The Gaidatar area, long regarded as highly fertile agricultural land, has now been placed in difficulty due to the shortage of irrigation.

After the dam was swept away by floods in the Chadi River last year, local farmers have been experiencing serious problems.

Leading farmer Santosh Chauhan stated that expected yields of paddy, vegetables and other crops have not been achieved owing to the lack of timely irrigation.

In recent times, growing interest has been observed in banana cultivation in Gaidatar.

For banana farming, irrigation is required at least twice annually.

As the dam remains unreconstructed, the necessary irrigation has not been secured in time, and concern has been expressed by farmers.

Banana producer Upendra Gole said that temporary embankments have been constructed upstream using stones, brushwood, sand, gravel and soil to facilitate irrigation.

Gole stated that such temporary structures are liable to be washed away even by a small flow of water.

As frequent repairs become necessary, farmers have been placed under pressure in terms of time, labour and financial cost, he said.

Ward Chair Bodhanath Devkota said that the attention of the local, provincial and federal governments has been drawn by farmers of Gaidatar to the need for reconstruction of the dam.

According to him, delays in irrigation management have increased the risk that the economic condition of this agriculture-dependent area will be weakened.

If reconstruction is not carried out in a timely manner, significant losses to agriculture are certain to occur

It is now deemed essential that, rather than mere assurances, concrete implementation be undertaken by the government and the concerned authorities so that relief may be provided to the affected farmers.