RAJSHAHI, Dec 1, 2018 (BSS)- Solar power irrigation has started gaining
popularity in Barind area as it plays vital role to ensure round the year
irrigation facilities to farmers besides lessening mounting pressure on
electricity to some extent.
Anwar Hossain, 45, a farmer of Biroil village under Godagari upazila, said
more than five hundred farmers of his area are being benefited from solar
power pump.
Under the ‘Extension of Irrigation in Barind Area through Conservation of
Water in Canal’ project, Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) has
connected the water pumps with solar panels to ensure a smooth supply of
water to farmers without any worry of load shedding.
The Taka 116.13 crore project is being implemented in eight upazilas of
Rajshahi, Naogoan and Chapainawabganj districts with the main thrust of
increasing use of surface water for irrigation round the year.
Anwar Hossain said the solar panel pumps supply irrigation water directly
to crop fields from the canal. The BMDA re-excavated canal resulting in the
use of surface water instead of underground water and increasing production
of crops and vegetables in the lands which once remained fallow.
Solar panels have been set up in Jagpur and Biroil areas in Godagari
upazila where water is being pumped through Sarmongla canal. Water is being
pumped from two large ponds in Gopalpur and Paldevepur villages where the
same has been stored from the river Padma.
BMDA Assistant Engineer Zillul Bari says he could start and stop the pumps
through computer by sitting in his office at daytime, but for having no
sunlight those pumps remained inoperative at night.
He also said the pumps are unlikely to damage during next 50-year. The cost
of irrigation was also less in the pump water whereas there is an increased
production of crops.
Solar pump used irrigation system from surface water sources is the first
ever in Bangladesh.
Shamsul Alam, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension, said
the surface water contains more minerals and silts that is why the water used
from surfaces is always more nourishing and better for 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.
Water for irrigation purposes were earlier supplied from deep tubewells
which run on electricity and due to erratic power supply, farmers suffered a
lot during irrigating water in their fields.
People of Barind region were now using surface water pumped through solar
panels with the introduction solar pump system.
Engineer Ahmed said at first water being pumped to local canals, water
bodies and rivulets from the river Padma and the Mahananda and stored there
and from those sources fields are being irrigated by using solar pumps.
Eighty bighas of land is getting full irrigation facility from a solar
pump. Around 38.85 kilometers of derelict canals and seven ponds were re-
excavated and 106 solar pumps have already set up in Barind region.
BMDA intends to extend irrigation facilities to around 3780 hectares land
through using surface water in Barind area which will contribute a lot to
produce around 37,800 tonnes of crops throughout the year.
“We have a plan of installing furthermore solar panel pumps in the Barind
area and the process of setting up of pumps is going on at present,” Engineer
Ahmed added.