Power department does not want to install any more solar irrigation pump under the Test Relief and Food for Work (Kajer Binimoye Khadyo-KaBiKha) projects.
Previously, with financing from these two projects, the Rural Electrification Board (REB) placed 40 pumps, which are currently inoperative.
Claiming that no maintenance was done, REB says, “Tk 300,000 to 350,000 was spent to place each pump, but due to neglect, almost all of them are inactive at the moment.”
Generally, such pumps work up to 20 years.
Under the TR-KaBiKha, Tk 20 million is allocated for each upazila and Tk 300,000 to 350,000 is spent to establish even a small irrigation pump.
Therefore, not too many people can be provided support with these pumps. Power Cell’s Director General (DG) Mohammad Hossain says, “There are two models now which create a conflict, Infrastructure Development Company Limited’s (IDCOL) business model uses solar based irrigation under which farmers pay for the water that pays for the solar systems; on the other hand, with KaBiKha’s plans to give free water, farmers won’t take water from IDCOL’s solar pumps.”
There isn’t anyone to monitor the KaBiKha pumps, whereas the IDCOL ones are regularly looked after and function without any glitches, he said.
“Therefore, such projects should be discarded and the funds used for some other purpose.”