Almost every year during paddy transplantation season, most farmers of Nawakha village in Punakha would struggle with shortage of irrigation water. But not this time. A new reliable water source has helped the farmers transplant paddy on time without having to struggle. And with the harvest season just around the corner, the villagers are hopeful of a bountiful yield.
Five water sources located about eight kilometres away from the village have been joined to supply water to the farmers. The source for irrigation benefits 28 households owning about 30 acres of wetland.
Until now, the farmers depended on small irrigation water and rainwater. Without enough water, some of them had to leave their lands fallow.
“The yield won’t be good if the paddy transplantation gets delayed. However, with the additional irrigation water and timely rainfall, we could transplant the paddy conveniently,” said Namgay Wangchuk, a farmer from Nawakha village.
“This time, our people completed the paddy cultivation works on time, and almost all the fallow lands were revived,” said Chhubu Gup Sonam Tobgay.
“We had three households who had left their lands fallow. It was not because of manpower shortage but due to insufficient irrigation water,” said Tsagay, Jangwakha-Sewla Tshogpa.
The foreign minister Dr Tandi Dorji, who is the Member of Parliament frim Lingmukha Toedwang pledged to supply adequate irrigation water to the village during the last parliamentary elections. “We are planning to prepare a master plan for water supply by surveying all the water sources to ensure continuous water supply in the country in the future. In the future, by referring to the plan, the government can supply the water from available sources.”
However, according to the Gup, the present water supply is unpredictable since the sources do not have enough water. But until it lasts, the villagers will be able to transplant paddy and need not leave their land fallow.
Changa Dorji, Punakha
Edited by Tshering Zam
