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JASHORE, Jan 13, 2025 (BSS) - Elected representatives, land owners and local elites have demanded to set up 10 more irrigation pumps to remove stagnant water from Bhabodah area to help cultivate IRRI-Boro crops during this season.

Nearly half of the farmland of the area may remain out of IRRI-Boro cultivation if the numbers of pumps are not increased immediately, said Water Development Board (BWDB) officials here today.

Over 500 people including five elected union council chairmen, 10 heads of different schools and colleges and local elites submitted a memorandum to adviser to the Water Resources and Environment and Climate Change ministries to increase the number of irrigation pumps immediately to pump out the stagnant water.

They said that the water level in Bhabodah area is still 15 centimeter higher than the danger level and it would not be possible to cultivate Irri-Boro crops this season if the additional pumps are not set up alongside the existing pump set.

According to the official sources, there are 16 small (with a capacity of five cusec per second) and four high powered pumps (with a capacity of 35 cusec per second) have been set up at Bhabodah sluice gates area to pump out the stagnant water from the area.

The water resources ministry has prepared a development project proposal (DPP) to procure six more high powered irrigation pumps for Bhabodah and it is now pending with the planning commission for approval, Polash Benarji, Executive Engineer of the Water Development Board, Jashore said.

“If six more high powered pumps are added to the present drive, most of the stagnant water of the area may be removed within this month,” he observed.

“We have engaged three excavators and a dragging machine in the Hari River, two excavators in the Upper Bhadra and two others in two canals to remove the silt from the river beds for smooth release of pumped out water from the area,” he added.
 
According the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources, there are some 25,000 hectors of land for IRRI-Boro cultivation only in Manirampur, Keshabpur and Avaynagar upazilas of Jashore district but some 11800 hectors of land will remain out of cultivation due to water logging.

Local people said that the farmers of the upstream of Bhabodah area have engaged dozens of shallow machines to pump out the stagnant water from different beels (water bodies) spending Taka 2000 to 2200 for per bigha land (42 shatak) to prepare it for cultivation.
         
At least 75,000 hectors of lands of four upazilas of Jashore and two upazilas of Khulna districts went under water in which 15 lakhs people of Bhabodah area were badly affected due to water logging this year.