Patna: Villagers have changed the course of a river in Bihar to save their dying crops for want of irrigation water. Bihar has been witnessing subdued monsoon conditions for more than a fortnight leading to rain deficiency of 18 per cent.
The villagers did the impossible in Alinagar block of Darbhanga district, 140km north of Patna, after running out of alternatives. The area is considered one of the flood-prone districts in Bihar but this time the monsoon has not been generous.
Armed with spades and using earth movers and tractors, the villagers worked day and night in the field to dig out soil and divert the Kamala river towards their drying fields. They raised Rs250,000 (Dh12,660) to carry out the digging so they could save their crops which they say are the lone source of their survival.
Villagers said the initiative would save standing crops planted in around 1,000 acres of land as the irrigation water is now available in plenty. According to them, they had transplanted paddy crops in their field after much difficulty since the monsoon arrived late this year but ultimately their efforts appeared going in vain as the monsoon ditched them.
“We had no option at all. Something concrete had to be done instantly. So we decided to change the course of the river to let the water enter our field,” one of the villagers Mahtab Alam told the local media on Tuesday. According to him, each section of society donated liberally as per their financial capability and also worked in the field to achieve the task.
Many districts of Bihar have been facing drought-like condition this year as the monsoon has returned quite early. What has further proved disastrous for the farmers is the sky-rocketing price of fuels due to which they are just unable to irrigate their land by diesel sets. Added to that, the government has not been able to announce diesel subsidy for the poor farmers so far.
According to India Meteorological Department records, 23 districts out of Bihar’s total 38 received deficient rainfall (-20 to -59 percent) rainfall this monsoon till September 16 while 13 districts recorded normal rainfall. Only two districts have shown surplus monsoon rainfall.
