When contacted over phone yesterday, KB Khan, executive engineer of the project, said the project machines are not operation due to lack of power supply. The project has a 15 MW generation unit, which is not operating since October 13 due to mechanical problem.

Urgent message has been sent to Dhaka to send engineers to repair the generation unit. But no response was available till now, he said yesterday.

The water supply was first disrupted as the potential transformer (PT) burnt, he said.

The PT was repaired but then fault developed at the power sub- station.

"We do not have skilled technician to repair the fault", he said. Some project officials said they could not detect the problem . Some suspected that there could be some earthing problem at the power station.

Sources in different areas said about 56,000 acres of transplanted Aman have been badly affected due to lack of sufficient water.

Now is the prime time for Aman crop. There should be at least 15 cm water in the field but the maximum water is 5 to 6 cms in different areas, they said.

Aman crop is affected in the GK project area almost every year as water supply in time is affected due to mechanical problem. Crops were badly damaged as the project could not supply water during dry seasons in 1992-1996 due to low flow of the Ganges river. The project became operational again after historical water sharing treaty with India in 1996. But since then, interruption in water supply is a common thing due to various reasons.