BSS-05 Solar power ensures round the year irrigation support

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ZCZC

BSS-05

SOLAR-POWER-IRRIGATION (with picture)

Solar power ensures round the year irrigation support

RAJSHAHI, Jan 12, 2018 (BSS)-Solar power pump has started ensuring round
the year irrigation facilities to farmers in Barind area gradually lessening
mounting pressure on electricity to some extent.

Zahaurul Islam, a farmer of Jagpur village under Godagari upazila, said
more than one 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
started connecting the water pumps with solar panels to ensure a smooth
supply of water to farmers without any worry of load shedding.

The project is being implemented in eight upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogoan and
Chapainawabganj districts.

Zahaurul Islam said the solar panel pumps were supplying 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.

Preliminary, 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.

Deb Dulal Dhali, 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. Six such solar pumps have already set up in Barind region.

“We have a plan of installing 96 solar panel pumps in the Barind area and
the process of setting up of 10 pumps is going on at present,” Engineer Ahmed
added.

BSS/AH/AKM 1225 hrs