SIRAHA: Despite the government’s recent announcement to install or repair 500 deep borings across the drought-affected Madhes districts, more than half of the existing deep borings in Siraha have been found to be non-functional due to the lack of essential infrastructure.
Most of these irrigation facilities are inoperative because of missing components such as transformers and pipelines. Additionally, there has been little initiative from local communities to restore and maintain them, leaving over 200 deep borings across the district in a dysfunctional state.
According to Narendra Kumar Mahaseth, Chief of the Agriculture Knowledge Centre, a recent inspection revealed that 32 out of 154 deep borings in Golbazaar Municipality are inoperative.
The number of non-functional borings is also significant in other areas: 17 in Dhangadhimai Municipality, seven each in Bhagwanpur and Nawarajpur Rural Municipalities, 16 in Karjanha Municipality, three in Bishnupur, and one in Sakhuwanankarkatti Rural Municipality.
Some of these facilities were reportedly installed nearly three decades ago.
Other affected areas include Bariyapatti Rural Municipality (10), Mirchaiya Municipality (24), Arnama (14), Siraha Municipality (15), Kalyanpur (1), Laxmipur Patari (all 21), Sukhipur (10), Naraha (32), and Lahan Municipality, where 13 out of 16 deep borings are not in working condition.
Local farmers and stakeholders are now calling for urgent maintenance and restoration of these deep borings to ensure adequate irrigation and revive agricultural productivity in the region.
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