The Bengal government on Tuesday asked the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to release irrigation water earlier to help farmers in sowing kharif paddy in the backdrop of deficiency in monsoon rain in south districts.
“The DVC was asked to release water for irrigation earlier this year compared to previous years to ensure sowing of paddy on time. The problem is that the DVC does not have enough water in its dams,” said a senior government official.
The government made the request at a meeting convened by Burdwan divisional commissioner Vijay Bharti with DVC officials in Burdwan on Tuesday.
Sources said the DVC officials had informed the state that they would release water for six days starting from July 22 in the first phase as the dams didn’t have enough water because of lack of rainfall.
“Usually, the DVC releases water continuously for 10-14 days for the first phase of irrigation starting from July 25 every year. Although they agreed to release water early, they have made it clear that water could be released for irrigation for a period of six days only,” said a state government official.
“If the districts don’t receive enough rainfall till July 27, another meeting will be conducted to discuss further steps,” the official added.
The DVC officials, however, said they were expecting enough rainfall before July 27 according to a forecast by the meteorological office.
“There is about 35-40 per cent scarcity in rainfall compared to previous years. We are expecting that central and western districts will receive good rainfall within the next few days. If rainfall is sufficient, there will be no problem in sowing paddy. The DVC will release water for five days in its highest capacity and it will be sufficient to meet the present crisis,” said Vijay Bharti.
Sources said farmers needed to finish sowing of paddy on around 8.2 lakh hectares before July 26. Otherwise, the seedlings in seed beds will be damaged as saplings need to be transplanted within 21 days.
“There is no reason to panic right now as there is a chance of rain. But we have to complete sowing of paddy in that 8.2 lakh hectors in Burdwan division at any cost,” an official said.
Agriculture department officials said despite the government trying its best to provide sufficient irrigation water, most of the land was not covered by the irrigation network. “Only about 8 to 10 lakh hectares out of 42 lakh hectares of cultivable area could benefit from the water released by the DVC. So, sowing of paddy largely depends on a good monsoon,” a source said.
There are many submersible pumps to get ground water for irrigation, but the farmers can’t afford it because of high rate of electricity, said a source.
“During this period of paddy cultivation, a huge amount of water is required and it is impossible to afford the cost of electricity by pumping out groundwater,” said a farmer in East Burdwan.
As leading paddy-producing districts in Bengal mainly depend on rainwater to cultivate fields in absence of a proper irrigation network, the state could achieve only 4.87 percent of the target coverage of 41.81 lakh hectares in this kharif season, said a source.
“We don’t think the crisis will last for a long time as the cut-off date for sowing paddy in the kharif season is August 15 and by that time, the state is expected to receive enough rainfall,” said an official.
