Siddharthnagar (Bhairahawa), July 6: A majority of farmers in Rupandehi have been forced to use groundwater to irrigate their fields for rice plantation due to insufficient rainfall this season.
Paddy cultivation is taking place by pumping groundwater in various areas in the district, including Kotahimai, Marchwari, Sammarimai, Gaidahawa and Omsatiya rural municipalities, and Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality.
Farmers here largely depend on rainwater and canal irrigation for rice plantation. However, due to a lack of adequate rains this monsoon, they have been compelled to switch to groundwater-based irrigation systems.
Amit Chauhan of Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality said that canals built here for irrigation have gone dry due to a lack of conservation and maintenance. “They are of no benefit to farmers,” he said.
According to Baijanath Barai of Marchwari Rural Municipality, most farmers in his locality are irrigating their paddy fields with the help of three to four groundwater pump sets simultaneously. As the locals said, this is not a particular problem they face this time, but a constant issue they have been dealing with for years.
The growing dependence on groundwater has increased the cost of farming, especially as diesel prices and electricity tariffs continue to rise.
