Criminals drain out Buri Teesta irrigation reservoir

Boro rice fields on about 5.5 thousand acres in Dimla and Jaldhaka upazilas will suffer without water for irrigation as sluice gates of the Buri Teesta barrage were left open several days ago.

The 91 metre-long barrage, under an irrigation project of Water Development Board (WDB), regulates water in a reservoir that is spread out on 1.2 thousand acres of land in Dimla upazila. A network of canals -- some about 30 kilometres in length -- distributes irrigation water to croplands in Dimla and Jaldhaka upazilas, according to WDB office in Nilphamari.

Unidentified criminals deliberately opened the sluice gates of the barrage at the dead of night, speculated locals.

A section of locals had been at loggerheads with the WDB over the latter's decision to resume operations of the Buri Teesta irrigation project this ongoing Boro season.

The activities of the project had been put on hold in the last 10 years after the High Court (HC) issued a stay order on its operations following a writ petition filed over the WDB's attempt to lease out its reservoir to a fish farm.

The WDB recently moved to upgrade the facilities and resume the irrigation project this Boro season after the HC lifted the stay order and annulled the lease agreement with the fish farm. 

A section of locals, however, has been opposing the irrigation project, claiming that they would be adversely affected by the project as it has serious design flaws.

Abdul Hannan Prodhan, sub-divisional engineer of WDB's Nilphamari division, said the sluice gates of the barrage were opened by those who illegally built infrastructures or are continuing farming activities inside the project area.  

According to a proposal, the Buri Teesta irrigation project will be upgraded at a cost of Tk 120 crore and real farmers in the project area would benefit greatly as irrigation cost would be one-tenth of that is spent on operating deep tube wells and shallow water pumps, he also said. 

Meanwhile, locals opposing the irrigation project formed a committee that would press the WDB backtrack on its decision.

Badal Mia Swapan, president of the committee and a resident of Pocharhat village, said, "The age-old project is flawed. It never succeeded in providing full-scale irrigation water, as beds of some of the branch canals are higher than that of the reservoir.

"Hence, the reservoir was leased out for fish farming in 2010. But now, a section of local WDB officials have misled the higher authorities."

Farmer Moshiur Rahman, from Dimla Sadar union, said potatoes rotted in his four-bigha land earlier this year when water from the reservoir seeped out and destroyed winter crops on vast crop fields in the area.

WDB filed a case with Dimla Police Station, accusing unidentified individuals for unlawfully opening sluice gates of the barrage and releasing water from the reservoir.