Thousands of farmers in northern Bangladesh are struggling to irrigate their fields despite water flowing through Teesta Irrigation Project canals, as many canals are silted up, water levels are too low or pressure is insufficient to reach farmland.

As a result, farmers are forced to rely on diesel-powered low-lift pumps, shallow tube wells and electricity-powered pumps, spending an additional Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 per bigha each season.

The project, which supports the cultivation of Boro rice, maize, wheat and vegetables across the region, has been providing irrigation water on a full-scale basis since 2000. But even after 26 years of operation, many farmers in areas covered by the project remain deprived of the expected benefits because water from the canals does not reach their fields.

The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has yet to implement an effective solution to the long-standing problem, leaving farmers to bear the additional cost of irrigation, particularly in areas located along the canals and at the tail ends of the distribution network.

According to BWDB sources, a pilot version of the Buri Teesta Irrigation Project was implemented during the 1962-63 to 1967-68 fiscal years. Following a model study, construction of the Teesta Barrage began in 1979 at Doani in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat. The construction was completed in 1989, while work on the project's irrigation canals began in the 1984-85 fiscal year.

The barrage was formally inaugurated in 1990. Irrigation through the Teesta canal began on a trial basis in the 1994-95 fiscal year before the project went into full operation in 2000.

The project uses water from the Teesta River for irrigation through a gravity-fed system.

Covering a total area of 750,000 hectares, the project was initially planned for implementation across 134,310 hectares. Of the project's 540,000 hectares of irrigable land, irrigation infrastructure has so far been developed to cover 84,565 hectares.

Although the project spans six districts and 25 upazilas, irrigation services are currently operational in 12 upazilas across Nilphamari, Rangpur and Dinajpur districts. These are Nilphamari Sadar, Jaldhaka, Saidpur, Kishoreganj, Dimla, Rangpur Sadar, Gangachara, Badarganj, Taraganj, Chirirbandar, Parbatipur and Khansama.

Water in canals, but not in fields

A recent visit to the area south of the Sherpur sluice gate in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur found water flowing through the canal while farmers in Mollapara, Dargapara, Kutipara, Dararpar, Bhaduppara, Shialgari, Gailbari, Mondolpara, Muchipara and Abinashpara were irrigating thousands of acres of farmland with diesel-powered pumps.

The problem is not limited to Taraganj. Many farmers in Dimla, Jaldhaka, Kishoreganj, Gangachara, Badarganj and other remote tail-end areas are also unable to receive adequate irrigation water because of the lack of facilities to lift water from the canals.

An investigation found that in many places, the water level in the main or secondary canals is lower than the elevation of the surrounding farmland. Some canals have become silted up, while water pressure is insufficient at tail-end points. In other areas, the land is too high for water to flow into fields through the existing system.

As a result, farmers continue to rely on diesel-powered low-lift pumps, shallow tube wells and electricity-powered pumps to draw groundwater for irrigation, despite the availability of water in nearby canals.

Experts and farmers believe that installing solar-powered low-lift pumps could provide an effective solution. Such pumps could lift water from canals and deliver it directly to farmland, reservoirs or underground pipelines.

The BWDB, however, said it has already installed solar-powered low-lift pumps at some locations to address the problem.

Farmers bear additional irrigation costs

Jogya Roy, a farmer from Sherpur in Kusha union of Taraganj, said the canal has brought little benefit to local farmers despite containing sufficient water.

“The canal here is useless to us. Even though there is plenty of water in it, we cannot lift it to our fields. We tried hard to draw water two years ago but failed,” he said.

“Hundreds of bighas of land here are irrigated using shallow machines and motor pumps. It costs Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 per bigha for irrigation each season,” he added.

Another farmer, Subhash Chandra Roy, questioned the usefulness of the canal if it fails to serve the very people it was built for.

“What is the benefit of having a canal if it does not help us? We are charged Tk 5,500 per bigha for irrigation. This is the hardship farmers have to endure. We want the government to install solar-powered pumps so that we can get water free of charge,” he said.

Jabed Ali, a farmer from Soyar Kutipara village in Soyar union of Taraganj, said local residents had given up land for development in the hope of benefiting from the irrigation project.

“We gave our land for development, but instead of enjoying the benefits, we are still struggling with mud and difficult conditions whenever we step into the area. The BWDB should take steps to ensure that water reaches the fields properly so that people living beside the canal can benefit,” he said.

“We have not seen any initiative so far. It has been around 20 to 22 years since the canal came to our area, but there has been only digging and excavation, with no meaningful development,” he added.

Planning gaps and incomplete canals

Tuhin Wadud, a professor of the Department of Bengali at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur and a researcher on rivers, said the Teesta Irrigation Project had initially been launched with a target of bringing 111,000 hectares of land under cultivation.

However, even after the project became fully operational, it had never achieved that target, he said. The maximum area brought under cultivation annually was around 90,000 hectares.

As a result, though canals were constructed in many areas under the first phase of the project, water could not be delivered to all those locations.

“This is partly a water shortage and partly a lack of planning. The fact that farmers have been unable to access water despite its continued presence in the canals for such a long time appears to reflect negligence on the part of the Water Development Board,” Wadud said.

Amolesh Chandra Roy, a community development agriculture officer and deputy chief extension officer of the BWDB in Rangpur, said water is available in the main canal, but secondary and tertiary canals were not constructed in several areas south of the sluice gate, including Kazirhat and Barnihat.

Water is supplied through the canal up to Parbatipur, where the canal's water level is almost the same as the elevation of the surrounding farmland. Farmers therefore have to use shallow pumps to lift water from the canal, he said.

Amolesh said constructing additional canals is difficult because it will require more land, while land acquisition often takes considerable time. “We are taking up a project to address the problem,” he said.

BWDB plans buried pipelines, solar pumps

Mizanur Rahman, superintending engineer of Rangpur BWDB Circle-2, acknowledged that the authorities are aware of the problem of farmers being unable to obtain water from canals beside their fields.

Under the original plan, secondary canals are to branch off from the main canal, with tertiary canals branching off from the secondary ones. Outlets in the tertiary canals will then deliver water directly to farmland, he said.

However, many of the planned canals could not be built because of difficulties in acquiring land, Mizanur said.

“At the time, it was decided that the main canals would be constructed first, with the remaining canals to be built later,” he said.

The BWDB official said two more canals will be constructed in the area next year to improve irrigation access.

The BWDB is also installing buried pipelines to help bring surrounding farmland under irrigation. Farmers currently use plastic pipes laid across the canal to lift water, he said.

“If the development project proposal is revised by December, we hope to invite tenders and begin work in January or February. Pipelines will be installed to bring nearby farmland under irrigation,” Mizanur said.

Repair work is also underway at some locations, he said, adding that once the repairs are completed and full water supply resumes, farmers will be able to continue lifting water using plastic pipes.

The official said solar panels will be installed in areas where the land is too high for farmers to draw water easily.