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Once a bane now a boon

Bhogai river rubber dam has changed life in 20 villages in Nalitabari. Re-excavation of only 1.5 km canal can bring more 5000 acres under IRRI-Boro cultivation

JAHANGIR ALAM back from Sherpur
NETRAKONA: Once a bane, the Bhogai river, flowing from hills across the border, is now a boon for the people of Nalitabari upazila in Sherpur district.
A rubber dam built at Jamira-kanda, has changed life in 20 villages.
In Jamirakanda and adjoining villages, around 95 per cent farmers are now well-off from cultivation of IRRI-Boro and vegetables with irrigation water provided by the rubber dam at a nominal cost. The rest five percent who are landless have also work round the year.
The situation was different earlier as flooding by the river damaged crops almost every year.
A 12-member Bhogai River Rubber Dam Management Committee manages the irrigation project. A farmer have to pay only Tk 400 to irrigate one acre of IRRI-Boro land in a season, which would have
cost at least Tk 25,00 if done through shallow or deep tube well. Farmers pay the money to the management committee, which utilises it to pay the small number of staff and further development of the project.
This year, over 5500 acres of land have been brought under cultivation of high yielding varieties of rice and vegetables.
The rubber dam was set up by the Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) in 1997. The dam at Jamirakanda obstructs the flow of Bhogai, swelling the water. The swollen water is then channelled to croplands through 160 big and small drains. The rubber dam is the third of its kind in the country.
The command area of the project can be increased easily, Nalitabari Upazila Engineer Ashraful Haque told this correspondent during a recent visit.
Now the water is allowed to swell up to 3.75 feet because five kilometres of both banks of the river are low. Water will overflow the banks if swelled further.
If the height of the banks can be increased by only two feet, the water can be swelled to almost double the command area.
A Tk 68 lakh proposal of has been submitted to the authorities to raise the height of banks. But money is yet to be sanctioned.
Aminul Islam Jinnah, president of the rubber dam managing committee said re-excavation of only 1.50 km of the 2.50 km Buri Bhogai, a tributary of Bhogai, could bring another 5000 increase under irrigation in Ramchandrakura and Kakorkandi unions.
One kilometre of the tributary was re-excavated during the past Awami League government.
Fatama Begum, one of the directors of the management com-
mittee, said before setting up of the dam around 80 per cent of the people in the area were poor. The rubber dam has changed their life.
Answeruddin, 45, a farmer in Jugania village, said he has only two acres of cultivated land which yielded hardly 40 maunds of paddy a year earlier. Now he can produce 150 to 160 maunds. His two sons are students at Nalitabari College and the daughter goes to Nalitabari High School.
Abdul Khalak of Kakorkandi village said he produced 310 maunds of Boro from four acres last year. He expects to produce more this year. He used to only around 75 maunds earlier.
When contacted, Jatiya Sangsad Whip from the area Jahad Ali Chowdhury said he is trying his best for re-excavation of 1.50 km of Buri Bhogai under the Food for Work Programme. He hopes to accomplish the job soon.