DINAJPUR, March 16, 2025 (BSS) - The suffering of local farmers has reduced after the repair of Mohanpur Rubber Dam on Atrai River in Sadar upazila and Saitara Rubber Dam on Kankara River in Chirirbandar upazila of the district.

After repairing of the dams, water has started rising at two points. Water is now flowing in the 44-kilometer area of Atrai and Kankara rivers. Farmers are able to irrigate their boro cultivation lands without any problems using the river water.

Deputy Director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Md. Nuruzzaman Mia told BSS that two rubber dams were constructed to facilitate irrigation in several thousand hectares of land in Dinajpur Sadar and Chirirbandar upazilas.

In 2001, a dam was first built in the Saitara area of the Kankara river in Chirirbandar upazila. Later, in 2014, another rubber dam was built on the Atrai river in the Mohanpur area of Sadar upazila.

He said that recently the Mohanpur rubber dam could not hold water due to a hole. On the other hand, the excavation work of the Kankara River was incomplete, so there was no water in the river. As a result, the two rubber dams became useless.

Farmers started irrigating through deep tube wells, which more than doubled the irrigation cost, and increased the financial hardship of the farmers.

Dinajpur LGED Executive Engineer Md. Masuder Rahman said that a 135-meter-long rubber dam with a capacity to store water in an area of 44 kilometers was built on the Atrai River in Dinajpur Sadar upazila at a cost of Taka 17.51 crore. On the other hand, the Saitara rubber dam, which is 130 feet long, was built on the Kankara River spending Taka 8.40 crore. 

During the current Boro season, local farmers in the areas along the banks of the Atrai and Kankara rivers and in the Mohanpur and Saitara rubber dam areas did not get water for irrigation.

Local farmers said every year during the Boro season, problems arise in the Mohanpur rubber dam. On the other hand, as the excavation work of the Kankara river has not been completed, the water flows down towards the Atrai river. As a result, farmers on both banks of the Kankara river are deprived of water. 

Recently, when news was published in various media outlets, it came to the attention of the authorities.

The LGED department started the repair work of the two rubber dams with great importance and repaired the dams on time.

The filling of the two rubber dams to retain water began on March 13. Farmers have been able to use the water stored in the rubber dam for irrigation purposes without any problems since 12 noon on Saturday.

Two agricultural officials from Chirirbandar and Sadar upazilas of the district said that 2,500 to 3,000 hectares of land in these two upazilas are under the irrigation facilities of rubber dams. 

Farmers can take water from Mohanpur and Kankara rivers at low cost through shallow machines or BADC LLP irrigation machines. There is a system of lifting water with the help of 53 LLP pumps, 14 shallow machines and 21 electric motors on both banks of the rivers. 

As the rubber dams of the two rivers have started to be filled, the irrigation water crisis will be over. There will be no problem in lifting irrigation water from the river in the next few days. 

Assistant Engineer Fauzul Kabir, who is in charge of supervising the rubber dams of Dinajpur LGED, said that the two rubber dams are very important. Two bags of the dam had holes. They are being repaired initially and filled with water from the Mohanpur rubber dam. Hopefully, there will be no more irrigation water problem now.

He also said that we have already sent a proposal for new bags. The new bag will be a permanent solution.