सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Jumla. Solar lift irrigation projects built with a budget of lakhs have been left behind. These projects built with the budget of the provincial government and local level have been particularly unsuccessful.
16 lift irrigation projects have been built in Tila rural municipality of the district, four in Hima and eight in Tatopani. At least more than 5 million rupees have been spent on each project. However, only four projects are currently operational. Twelve lift irrigation projects are in a dilapidated state.
Planning Officer Om Bahadur Chand said that although eight lift irrigation projects have been built in Tatopani rural municipality, only two are currently operational. The lift irrigation projects built here were built during the previous five-year term.
The lift irrigation projects operated using solar systems were not very sustainable. Currently, in the current fiscal year, lift irrigation projects to be operated using electrical systems in Wards 1 and 6 are under construction, according to Chand, an officer of the rural municipality planning department.
Although four solar systems have been built in Hima rural municipality, not all projects are currently operational, said Rural Municipality Information Officer Ratan Rawat. Irrigation projects operated using solar systems have not been very successful. A lift irrigation project was constructed in 2077 BS in Moplagaun, Rural Municipality-3, to provide irrigation to 285 households.
A lift irrigation project with modern technology was constructed in the village at a cost of Rs 5 million with the support of the Karnali Province Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives. It was expected that the life of the solar panel would be at least 25 to 30 years and irrigation could be done by that time, but it is now unused, according to Information Officer Rawat. According to Tila Rural Municipality Chairman Motilal Rokaya, there are four lift irrigation projects in Tila. He said that out of the four projects, only two projects connected to the electrical system are in operation.
Out of the total area of Jumla, 253,100 hectares, 39,486 hectares of land is cultivable. The Karnali Province Ministry of Land Management and Agricultural Cooperatives has stated that 3,364 hectares of cultivable land is irrigated and 23,071 hectares is unirrigated (pakho).
Currently, only 26,435 hectares are under cultivation. There is more land that is not irrigated than there is irrigation facility for cultivation in the district. In the non-irrigated land, especially millet, maize, barley, wheat, fenugreek, potatoes, beans, sugarcane and apples and walnuts are being grown. Although a plan was introduced a decade ago to lift water from the nearby Tila and Hima rivers through a solar system to provide irrigation facilities to the non-irrigated land, the locals here say that the project has not been able to operate in the long term.
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