There is no water in the Padma, the pump of the country's largest irrigation project is closed

A correspondent in Kushtia: Authorities have shut down two pump machines of the Ganga-Kopotaksh (GK) irrigation project, the country's largest irrigation project at Bheramara in Kushtia, due to declining water in the Padma River.

Mizanur Rahman, the executive engineer of the pump house, said that the water supply of the two pumps has been reduced to zero since last Friday evening. He said the water supply to the two pumps had to be cut off after 7 pm on Friday due to the low water level in the Padma last week. Water was found that week from 4.1 to 4.17 m Reduced Level (RL). Engineer Mizanur Rahman said, ‘The temperature of the coil and bearings of the pump machine is increasing as soon as it falls below 4.5 m RL.

There is noise and shaking. That's why I was forced to shut down the two pumps after talking to the higher authorities. ' Two pumps of the Ganga-Kopotaksh (GK) Irrigation Project were commissioned on January 15 and 16 this year to provide irrigation facilities to farmers in Kushtia, Chuadanga, Magura, and Jhenaidah.

These are capable of supplying 1,200 cusecs of water per second at a time. The two pumps were supposed to run continuously for 10 months after commissioning. Mizanur Rahman said, "Due to the Farakka agreement, Bangladesh will get 10 days and India 10 days according to the availability of Ganges water this season." The availability of Bangladesh will start on March 31. If the water supply increases at that time, the water supply of the two pumps will be operational again.

'Under the GK project, the target is to irrigate about 15,000 hectares of land through the 194 km main canal in four districts this boro season. The country's largest irrigation project was undertaken in 1954 on the banks of the river Padma. Water is brought from the river to a canal, pumped, and supplied to the canal of the irrigation project.

The project aimed to increase the quality of agriculture in the four districts, reduce costs and increase production. Initially, 4 lakh 7 thousand acres of land in 13 Upazilas of four districts were under the project. Later, as the water level in the Padma River decreased, silt and shelf accumulated at the mouth of the main canal of the pump. Due to a lack of water, the canals of the GK project started filling up one by one. Later the scope of the project also decreased.