RAJSHAHI, Nov 5, 2021 (BSS)- Barind Multipurpose Development Authority
(BMDA) is ensuring quality irrigation services to the grassroots farmers so
that they can boost their farm production to meet the country's demand.

   More than 5.25 lakh hectares of croplands have been under irrigation in
the country's northwest region contributing a lot to ensuring food security
through boosting the farming yields.

   The huge croplands were brought under irrigation facilities through
operating power-driven deep tube wells, low lift pumps and solar irrigation
systems in almost round the year in all 16 districts under Rajshahi and
Rangpur divisions.

   BMDA, the largest irrigation-providing state-run organisation in the
region, has arranged the irrigation facilities yielding a significant success
in crop production.

   High officials of the public entity revealed this while addressing an
institutional public hearing held at its headquarters conference hall here
yesterday.

   BMDA Chairman Begum Akhter Jahan addressed the meeting as the chief guest
with its Executive Director Engineer Abdur Rashid in the chair.

   Additional Chief Engineers Shamsul Huda and Dr Abul Kashem, Superintending
Engineers Iqbal Hossain, Nazirul Islam, Abdul Latif and Mahfuzur Rahman and
Deputy Manager Rafiqul Islam also spoke.

   Expressing his views Aminul Islam, a farmer of Bidirpur village under
Godagari upazila, said they are cultivating three to four crops in a year
after the best uses of BMDA's irrigation at present instead of only single
crop around two decades back.

   In her remarks, Begum Akhter Jahan said the agriculture-friendly present
government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ensuring seed and
fertilizers at fair price.

   Around 16,000 people are getting safe drinking water from 420 dug-wells in
some of the drought-prone high Barind tract where the existing shallow and
deep tube-wells water technologies are yet to be reached due to various
reasons.

   She added that the region scored significant progress in the crop
production sector following the expansion of irrigation facilities along with
supplying water from the re-excavated canals and ponds.

   Engineer Abdur Rashid told the meeting that around 1,080 kilometres
underground irrigation pipelines were constructed aimed at reducing the loss
of irrigation water by around 40 percent in the Barind area.

   "We've a plan of elevating the surface water-based irrigation to 30
percent from the existing 10 percent by 2030 in order to lessen the gradually
mounting pressure on underground water," he said.