Rautahat Farmers Face Transplanting Uncertainty Due to Lack of Rain

Rautahat. Farmers in Sakhwani of Chandrapur Municipality-2 reach the fields daily and return looking at the sky. With the end of Ashad 27th passing without any decision on paddy transplantation this year, they are disappointed.

Paddy seedlings are ready but the fields are completely dry. Due to the lack of irrigation facilities in the fields, hundreds of farmers including Bamjan in this region are forced to look at the sky. Bamjan, who could not plant paddy last year due to lack of timely rain, had planned to transplant paddy this year. He said that transplantation has become uncertain as they have to depend on rainwater now. "The bunds and fields are ready for transplantation but there is a problem due to lack of water, the fields are completely barren," Bamjan said.

Kuldeep Chaudhary of the same village is in a similar problem and worry. "I am worried that the fields that were left barren last year due to lack of irrigation will remain barren this year as well. There has not been enough rain yet, the seedlings have dried up in the nursery. We are uncertain about when to transplant," he said. He expressed concern that the fields are becoming barren due to dependence on rainwater and lack of alternative irrigation facilities.

Hundreds of farmers here, including Kiran Bamjan, Baburam Ghising, and Umesh Chaudhary, are increasingly worried that the fields that became barren last year might not be transplanted this year as well. Surendra Kurmi, office chief at the District Agricultural Knowledge Center, informed that although about 38,500 hectares of land in the district are suitable for paddy cultivation, paddy transplantation has been done in only 6,160 hectares so far. He mentioned that while about 45 to 50 percent transplantation should have been done by this time, only about 16 percent transplantation has been done due to insufficient rainfall.

Office chief Kurmi informed that the Bagmati Irrigation Project irrigates about 13,000 hectares of land in Rautahat and the Jhajh Irrigation Project irrigates about 4,500 hectares of land. According to him, irrigation facilities have reached half of Chandrapur Municipality, Brindaban, Gujara, Gadhimai, Madhavnarayan Municipalities, and Durgabhagwati Rural Municipality through the Bagmati Irrigation Project.

Similarly, under the Jhajh Project, irrigation has reached Garuda, Madhavnarayan, Gadhimai Municipalities, and Yamunamai Rural Municipality. Kurmi informed that 20 percent of the arable land is irrigated by shallow tube wells. He said that shallow tube wells are mostly used for vegetable farming. According to him, irrigation will reach four local levels if water from the Gandak canal under the Narayani Irrigation Management Office can be brought into Rautahat.

Office chief Kurmi mentioned that if the canal is cleaned and water is brought to Rautahat, the fields of Baudhimai, Rajpur, Paroha Municipalities, and Durgabhagwati Rural Municipality here will be irrigated. According to him, although the Gandak canal has been extended from Bankul of Baudhimai Municipality to Badharwa of Durgabhagwati Rural Municipality, water has not been coming to the canal for a long time.

He informed that out of a total of 52,200 hectares of arable land in Rautahat, about 38,500 hectares are used for paddy cultivation. According to office chief Kurmi, paddy was cultivated in about 31,500 hectares of land in Rautahat last year. He said that transplantation will gain momentum in a few days if the monsoon becomes active and it rains continuously.