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Deep tube-wells deepen farmers’ difficulties
NEPALGUNJ, NOV 12 - Marred by the high electricity tariffs of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), most of the deep tube-wells in the district have been closed since last one year.
“What is the use of operating tub-well while we have to pay the electricity tariff higher than our income,” said Rabi Raj Bhattarai, President of Lalpur Underground Water Users’ Committee.
He said that they could not operate the tub-well more than two seasons due to the financial crisis.
Underground Water Project (UWP) had installed as many as 29 deep tube-wells in five Village Development Committees of the district with the grant assistance of Rs 100 million from the international community. Of the total tub-wells, 23 of them have now been shut down.
The installation cost of each tube-well was Rs 3.5 million. The underground water users had to pay Rs 1,264 as the electricity tariff each month. The tube-wells installed by UWP have a greater capacity of 30 HP.
“The tube-wells with capacity of 12 HP is capable of irrigating thousand of acres of land in India. However, the UWP installed the tube-well with capacity of 30 HP, thereby making us harder to pay the tariff,” said Nita Bhattarai, a local user.
“If the tube-well was of the smaller capacity, we would somehow be able to run,” she said.
Moreover, the farmers complained of the NEA for raising the electricity tariff higher than that of the rate fixed by the government for the farmers as part of its policy to provide facility to them.
However, Tirpureshwor Purbe, Chief of Nepal branch of the NEA said that the NEA has charged the electricity tariff for the farmers as per the tariff rate fixed by the NEA.
These 29 tube-well had been installed in Sitapur, Udayapur, Hiramoniya, Bhawaiyapur and Piprapahawa VDCs, which are supposed to be arable lands in the district.
Referring to the closed tube-wells, Surya Dev Thapa, chief of the UWP said that the responsibility to ensure the smooth operation of the tube-wells is of the farmers.
“All what the project does is just install the tube-wells to the farmers,” said he.
He further said that the best way to resume the operation of the closed tube-well is to make a fund with the help from the government in order to pay the electricity tariff until and the farmers become capable of paying the tariff.
The farmers, deprived of an access to irrigation, were quite optimistic that the installation of the tube-wells will uplift their life standards, thereby increasing their agro-products. Posted on: 2003-11-11 09:12
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