Boro farmers suffer for want of a transformer

More than 1,000 Tentulia farmers are sitting idle for about five weeks as they could not irrigate their land for boro farming on time for want of a transformer.
Farmers of Chhopagachh, Barodaluagachh and Mahigachh villages of Shalbahan union of the upazila alleged that Panchagarh PDB employees demanded Tk 30,000 from them as bribe to repair and reinstall a transformer which went out of order in December last, the time when farmlands and seedbeds were being irrigated with power-propelled pumps to prepare them for boro transplantation.
They said they used to irrigate their croplands with the help of 100 irrigation machines run by power.
Scores of farmers of the union along with dried up boro seedlings staged demonstration in front of the upazila parishad and Upazila Nirbahi Officer's offices protesting 'dillydallying' by local Power Development Board employees to repair and reinstall the 200 kv transformer. The transformer was removed from the power pole and taken away from the area over one month ago with assurance of early repair and reinstalling.
Instead of timely repair and reinstalling, the PDB officials allegedly demanded Tk 30,000 as 'reinstallation charge' and another Tk 5,000 as 'conveyance money' for carrying the transformer from Dinajpur to the union.
Over 50 farmers went to upazila chairman Muktarul Haque Muku and UNO Priyasindhu Talukdar seeking Tk 3 lakh as compensation from the local administration to offset the loss they incurred due to alleged corruption and negligence by PDB men.
They also submitted a complaint to them blaming a few local PDB employees and demanding early payment of compensation.
Contacted, Panchagarh PDB officials concerned denied the allegation claiming they took the transformer to Dinajpur which will take some more time for repair.