The Samity is giving power supply lines to houses and privately owned shallow tube-wells allegedly in exchange of money, depriving the deep tube-wells.

Deep tube-well owners are staging demonstrations in many areas and crowding Palli Bidyut Samity offices almost every day as irrigation of their lands are suffering for lack of power, the managers of deep tube-well committees said.

Deep Tube-wells Farmers Welfare Association (DTFWA) earlier submitted an application to the district administration alleging corruption by the Samity, but to no response. It finally filed a case against the Samity on November 30 with the court of Nilphamari Senior Assistant Judge, seeking a court order for power supply.

The court issued a show cause notice on the Samity on January 30.

DTFWA President Khairat Hossain at an emergency meeting of its Executive Committee recently alleged that the association submitted an application to the General Manager (GM) of Nilphamari Palli Bidyut Samity on January 18 seeking electricity connection to deep tube-wells owned by its members. But nothing has been done though this is the peak season of IRRI-Boro cultivation.

He said that a number of mangers of different deep tube-well management committees also submitted several prayers separately at different times to the Palli Bidyut Samity for electricity connection. Those all went unheeded for 'mysterious reasons.'

General Secretary of the association, Ayub Sarkar, alleged at the meeting that the Samity is violating government rules by not providing power supply to deep tube-wells.

As per rule, the minimum distance between deep tube-wells should be 2,500 feet and between a deep and a shallow tube-well it should be 1,700 feet to get power supply.

But the Samity is providing electricity connection to privately owned shallow pumps even within 50 feet from a deep tube-well in exchange of money, he alleged. Allegations are there that a section of Samity officials demands bribe for power connection.

The Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) had fielded 323 deep tube-wells in the district. It later sold 236 to deep tube-wells management committees. The rest are under care of Barind Multi Purpose Development Authority (BMDA) and some NGOs, said Ayub Sarkar.

Lutfar Rahman, manager of a deep tube-well management committee at Fakir Para village in Sonarai union under the Sadar upazila told this correspondent that they were compelled to stop operation of their deep tube-well while two shallow pumps under its command area are operating with power supplied by the Samity.

Farkan Ali, the manager of deep tube-wells management committee at Kalkeut in Jaldhaka Upazila said he is waiting for long for power connection to their deep tube-well.

A farmer in Shaha Para Kundupukur village of the Sadar upazila said irrigation cost is around Tk 1000 under a shallow tube-well against Tk 650 to 700 under a deep tube-well. When contacted, general manager of Nilphamari Palli Bidyut Samity, Nazibul Islam, said the order of the agriculture ministry regarding power supply to deep tube-wells is not in force now.

Asked about farmers' allegations, he said if the deep tube-well is within 100 feet from electricity line, then certainly it would get connection. But if it is far away, it will take time for construction of new power supply infrastructure.

Meanwhile a 20 MW diesel powered electricity generation unit in Syedpur is inoperative for long due to lack of repair, sources said. The other 20 MW unit, run by furnace oil, is operating but the power it generates is supplied to the National Grid. Only 6 to 7 MW power generated by it is supplied to Nilphamari, the sources said.