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Farmers in Barind area are now getting irrigation facilities round the year, thanks to solar-powered pumps, reports BSS.
Zahaurul Islam, a farmer of Jagpur village under Godagari upazila, said more than one hundred farmers of his area are being benefited from solar-powered pumps.
Under the 'Extension of Irrigation in Barind Area through Conservation of Water in Canal' project, Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) has started connecting the water pumps to solar panels to ensure a smooth supply of water to farmers who no longer have to worry about power outages.
The project is being implemented in eight upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogoan and Chapainawabganj districts.
Zahaurul Islam said the solar-powered pumps were supplying irrigation water directly to crop fields from the canal in the project area. The BMDA re-excavated the canal to enable farmers to use of surface water instead of underground water, resulting in an increase of production of crops and vegetables in the lands which once remained fallow.
Solar panels have initially been set up in Jagpur and Biroil areas in Godagari upazila where water is being pumped from Sarmongla canal. In Gopalpur and Paldevepur villages, water is being pumped from two large ponds where water has been stored from the river Padma.
BMDA Assistant Engineer Zillul Bari said he could operate the water pumps using a computer from his office at daytime, but the pumps remained inoperative at night when there is no sunlight.
He also said the pumps are unlikely to get damaged in the next 50 years. The cost of irrigation was also low and on the other hand, production of crops has increased.
Deb Dulal Dhali, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension, said that as the surface water contains more minerals and silts, it is always more nourishing and boost crop production.
Engineer Shibbir Ahmed, director of the BMDA project, said the height of cultivable land from the Padma river basin is 70 to 150 feet on an average.
Earlier, water for irrigation purposes came from deep tubewells which run on electricity, but the farmers suffered a lot due to erratic power supply.
People of Barind region are now using surface water after the introduction solar pump system.
Engineer Ahmed said water is first being pumped into local canals, water bodies and rivulets from the river Padma and the Mahananda and stored there. Later, the stored water is used for irrigation.
Eighty bighas of land can be irrigated using a solar pump. Six such solar pumps have already set up in the Barind region.
"We have a plan to install 96 solar panel pumps in the Barind area. At present, process is underway to set up 10 pumps," Engineer Ahmed added.