CHITWAN: As the third week of July ends, Chitwan continues to reel under a rainfall deficit, posing serious challenges to rain-fed agriculture and paddy transplantation efforts across the district.
Farmers, particularly in the western belt of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, are bearing the brunt of the delayed monsoon. Though some were able to transplant paddy using irrigation systems, the recently planted seedlings are now wilting due to insufficient water.
Water levels in local rivers and streams have dropped significantly, forcing farmers to rely heavily on irrigation systems. Many who previously used water from the Khageri River have now shifted to the Narayani Lift Irrigation System due to falling water levels in the Khageri.
In response to increasing demand, authorities have begun diverting water from the Narayani River into the Khageri Canal round-the-clock. “With the delay in rainfall, we’ve had to regulate canal operations more intensively,” said Kularaj Chalise, Chief of the Narayani Lift and Khageri Irrigation Management Division Office.
Under the Narayani Lift Irrigation Project, around 4,700 hectares of land are being irrigated, and 90% of paddy transplantation has been completed. Meanwhile, only 70% of transplantation has been done on 3,900 hectares covered by the Khageri Irrigation Project in Devnagar, Gitanagar, and Parbatipur.
Hardest-hit areas include Sharadanagar, Shibanagar, Parbatipur, and Jayanagar. Some farmers have turned to underground water sources, but low electricity voltage has restricted the operation of tube wells to nighttime, further limiting irrigation.
“The drought has caused significant delays,” said Khilaraj Regmi, Vice Chair of the Khageri Irrigation Project Users Committee. “Water from the Narayani Lift has helped, but not enough to meet our total needs.”
Farmers have been rationing canal water, using it on a rotational basis. Purna Bahadur Ranabhat, Chair of the Narayani Lift Irrigation Consumers’ Committee, said many transplanted seedlings are now drying out due to the prolonged dry spell.
According to the District Agriculture Development Office, 87.6% of paddy transplantation has been completed across Chitwan. Office Chief Jhalaknath Kandel confirmed that the western region of Bharatpur has been the most affected by the lack of rainfall, with drying seedlings reported from several areas.
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