Thangna and Pangna-Patala chiwogs in Drukjeygang Gewog of Dagana are the frustrated owners of a very expensive but failed irrigation canal. The district administration took up a 13-kilometre irrigation canal project in 2017 to address the longstanding irrigation issue. Five years after the project, the farmers are still struggling like before.
Back in 2018, the district administration handed over a seven-kilometre-long irrigation canal to the Drukjeygang Gewog Administration. It starts from Buddhichhu to Ngachhunglum near Thangna chiwog. The district spent Nu 16.9 M. The canal was filled with water and serving the core purpose then.
However, today the canal is dry. It is filled with leaves, grasses, sands and debris. Farmers believe some contract faults have caused the water supply disruptions. They say landslides and falling boulders easily destroy the unburied pipelines in rocky areas affecting the supply.
But the disruption in the irrigation supply from the canal is not holding some farmers back. Relying heavily on rain and seasonal spring water, farmers are busy in paddy cultivation. They however say the work often gets delayed when they rely on rainwater.
“Irrigating paddy fields is difficult when there is no rainfall. We rush paddy cultivation works when it rains. We have a small stream nearby but it is not enough during the peak season. This time as well, my paddy cultivation got delayed by two weeks without rainfall,” said Tandin Wangchuk, from Thangna chiwog.
“We were hopeful of benefiting from the irrigation water supply but it somehow failed its purpose. But what is important now is to rectify the faults. This would probably solve the problem,” said Thangna Tshogpa Ugyen Lhendup.
“In the absence of reliable irrigation water, some households have left acres of wetland fallow. We would be grateful if the relevant authorities intervene and solve the problem at the earliest,” added Dorji Pem, from Pangna-Patala chiwog.
As they hoped, the district administration is also planning to carry out minor maintenance works at the source.
Meanwhile, two community contractors continued the irrigation water project to complete the remaining six kilometres. However, the work was stopped after some residents complained to the gewog that the construction works were damaging private land. They allege that water clogged in plain drains causes landslides affecting their land and crops.
Amid the complaints and accusations, some farmers have already turned their fields green the hard way. However, necessary interventions and rectifying the project will help all the farmers in these two chiwogs of about 200 households.
Pema Tshewang, Dagana
Edited by Sonam
