Rajshahi: Surface water conservation is of the essence of mitigating the water crisis, which is being deepened due to the deficit of rainfall, in the region, including its vast Barind tract. The groundwater level in the region is falling drastically due to indiscriminate extraction of water, mainly for irrigation purposes.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, indiscriminate lifting of groundwater and use of pesticides in crop fields have increased alarmingly, especially over the past 20 years. Prof Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan mentioned that the present interim government has recently published a gazette declaring 4,911 villages in 25 upazilas under Rajshahi, Naogaon, and Chapainawabganj districts as water-stressed. As per the decision of the 18th meeting of the National Water Resources Council (NWRC), the area has been declared water-stressed for 10 years, with restrictions imposed on the extraction of underground water for any purposes other than drinking.
Quoting the gazette notification, Prof Sarwar Jahan, who teaches at the Department of Geology and Mining at Rajshahi University, said no more extracted water will be used for irrigation and other industrial purposes in the restricted area. To mitigate the water crisis, he emphasized that surface water resources must be enriched. Water from the Padma River should be introduced into the Barind area for irrigation, and rainwater harvesting and conservation are crucial at present. He also suggested stopping the leasing of government ponds, canals, beels, and wetlands, allowing their water to remain available for agricultural purposes, while promoting less water-consuming crops on a large scale.
Development activist Jahangir Alam Khan highlighted that there are around 10,000 ponds, 200 canals, and ten other large water bodies in the Barind areas, including Beelbhatia, a vast water body and wetland of around 6,388 acres, at Bholahat upazila in Chapainawabganj. Tens of thousands of hectares of farmland can be irrigated year-round using the conserved water of the beel if it is re-excavated. Additionally, a four to five-kilometer-long water body at Rohanpur in Gomastapur upazila could irrigate around 10,000 hectares of land for 25,000 farmers if re-excavated. The two-kilometer Chowdala-Boalia canal, currently in a derelict condition, could irrigate around 150 hectares of farmland if renovated.
Transforming all existing underground water-based irrigation into surface water systems is crucial in reducing the mounting pressure on groundwater. Khan noted that the declining water resources pose a severe threat to the living and livelihood conditions of marginalized and low-income families in the water-stressed area. He also emphasized the importance of rainwater harvesting to ease living and livelihood conditions by mitigating water crises in the Barind area. Extending necessary knowledge and devices to communities will enable them to utilize rainwater harvesting technologies effectively.
Conventionally, surface water promotion in the Barind region focuses on mitigating groundwater depletion to provide irrigation for crops like wheat and pulses, improve domestic water supply, enhance livelihoods, and build climate resilience through water conservation and efficient use. Jahangir Khan stated that key initiatives involve large-scale pond re-excavation, canal renovation, and promoting water-efficient farming, aiming to shift irrigation reliance from groundwater to surface sources.