An 18-million-ngultrum irrigation water project at Kanakha village in Dagana’s Kana Gewog which began three years ago still remains incomplete after missing several deadlines. The district administration terminated the contract earlier this month. The project which is a part of the Water Flagship Programme is crucial for the people of the chiwog who do paddy cultivation as their primary economic activity. With the delay in construction, people are starting to leave their villages.
What used to be a lush green paddy field a few years ago is now barren. A little over 120 acres of land is now covered in bushes.
Six families have left the village in search of better opportunities. They fear that more may follow suit if the project remains incomplete this year as well.
42-year-old Choki Mo, a single mother of three is one of those who left the village to open a shop near a school.
“We have to earn our bread and butter and buy proper clothing. So, I am running a little shop here. In the past, we used to cultivate paddy to meet our expenditures,” said Choki Mo, a resident of Kanakha.
Similarly, some farmers are now working as daily wagers while some elderly people are putting up at their relatives’ homes.
“We have loans, we have to sell rice and other produce to pay off loans. But now there is no water to cultivate paddy. If we work for a day, we can only afford a bag of rice,” said Dotay, a resident.
“I don’t even have a son or anyone in the family. I used to get one-third of the harvest from my paddy fields from those who cultivated on my land. But now, with the irrigation channel incomplete, I have no hope,” said Yeshi Mo, another resident.
“The cardamom that we had planted also died due to lack of water. We are at a great loss and people are struggling to send their children to school. Some have to leave their children and wives behind to go and work on contracts. If the situation remains the same, Kanakha will become empty someday,” said Moti Lal Bhattarai, community chairman of Kanakha Irrigation Channel.
“If the project cannot be completed by the next paddy cultivation season as well, I feel the village will be empty,” said Mani Prasad Powrel, a resident.
Kurizam Company, the construction company which carried out the works was supposed to complete them by October 2022.
However, the contract was extended for another six months citing unavailability of materials during the pandemic and bad road conditions.
The district engineer said that one of the main reasons for the delay was due to the wrong gradient taken to lay the pipeline by the contractor. He said because of the high gradient, works had to be redone.
“When the contractor started the formation cutting, he took it in the wrong route. So, we warned him to change the direction, but still, he failed to change it. So, this was the main cause. That is not our fault,” said Jamyang Dorji, district engineer.
After missing the extended deadline, the district administration issued a show cause notice in August last year following which an extension was given till the end of last year. The contractor again wrote to the administration seeking a further extension. However, the contract was terminated on the 8th of this month.
The contractor said the works got delayed due to the pandemic and bad road conditions during monsoon.
The district engineer said they want to settle the matter at the earliest and resume the work.
Devika Pradhan, Dagana
Edited by Kipchu
