BARDIYA:- About five thousand farmers of Rajapur Municipality and Geruwa Rural Municipality have brought water to their fields by damming the Karnali River in Geruwa Rural Municipality-1, Janaknagar.
When there was no rain even until the first week of Ashar, they used local resources and donated labor to bring water to their fields by damming the river. An area of 10,000 hectares is irrigated from the Okhariya Intake.
Due to drought, farmers had reached the river with jhala leaves and firewood in tractors after the water did not reach their fields. Local resources have blocked the Karnali dam near the intake and brought water towards the Okhariya intake.
Every year during the rice planting season, farmers build temporary dams in the river to bring water to their fields. There are 12 mouzas under the combined Budhikulo irrigation system under the Rajapur irrigation system built by the Rajapur Irrigation Project.
Due to the lack of systematic construction of the Rajapur irrigation system, farmers are forced to build dams in the river every year, taking risks. Since the Budhikula intake is located far from the water source, they are forced to carry water to Budhikula, said Dhan Bahadur Shahi, president of the Gola Water Consumers Association.
He said that even though permanent springs have been built in other places, due to the lack of a permanent spring in the old irrigation system, the farmers have to enter the river every year at great risk. “Although the Rajapur area is a storehouse of grain, farmers have suffered due to the lack of a permanent spring for irrigation.
The Nepal government should manage irrigation by building permanent dams and structures.”
He said, “If the government builds a seven-kilometer permanent structure, this problem will end forever.” Farmer Guru Prasad Chaudhary said that when people in Rajapur and Geruwa need water, they go to the river to build a temporary dam.
He said that we have been forced to do labor for water for a long time, and we do not know how long we will have to do it. He said that we are forced to take risks due to the lack of water in the canals even during the cultivation period. Bikram Rai, information officer at the Rajapur Irrigation Management Office, said that they have been traditionally doing labor to increase the water level in the canal.
He said that the Karnali River is swollen and the people will have to continue to suffer until a large budget is allocated for its management. Stating that since the river is spread over many ravines, it cannot be structured in one place, he said that a large budget should be allocated to create a well-managed source.