Rice fields drying up in Sunsari due to delayed monsoon

SUNSARI: A lack of timely rainfall has left rice fields in Sunsari district parched, threatening this season’s paddy cultivation.

As the month of July draws to a close, many farmers have been unable to transplant rice seedlings due to insufficient rain and inadequate irrigation infrastructure.

In Barahakshetra Municipality-6, particularly in the Chilaiya and Garaiya areas of Sri Lanka Tapu, rice seedlings are already drying up. Local farmer Santosh Chandrabanshi said, “We were counting on rainfall this season, but it hasn’t come when we needed it. We’ve just been watching the sky as our seedlings wither away.”

Efforts to irrigate fields using pump sets have also been hampered due to the lack of electricity in several areas. While Barahakshetra Municipality has distributed 43 electric motors, 60 delivery pipes, and 155 tarpaulins to support farmers, the reach remains limited.

Rambhuwan Raya, a farmer from Ramdhuni Municipality, said he has cultivated rice on two bighas of land but has only been able to plant on less than half so far.

“Farmers like me who rely on rainfall are now facing the risk of losing our entire crop if the weather doesn’t change soon,” he added.

Saraswati Miya, a farmer from Koshi Rural Municipality-7, reported that although she had prepared her nursery beds in Jestha, the seedlings have dried up due to the lack of rain.

In Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City-6, farmer Buddhiman Tamang said that insufficient water in local canals has stalled all planting. “By this time last year, we had finished sowing. This year, we haven’t even completed a third,” he said.

Sunsari district has 4,809 hectares of land under paddy cultivation. According to Nil Kamal Singh, head of the Agricultural Knowledge Center in Sunsari, around 50% of sowing had been completed by the end of July last year. This year, however, only 32% has been completed in the same timeframe.

Farmers are urgently calling for proper irrigation solutions and demand government support in the form of subsidies for fertilizers, seeds, and farming equipment.

While some have managed to source irrigation privately, many say it is beyond their means and are appealing for immediate government relief.