The government has announced uninterrupted electricity supply to rural areas for the next 10-15 days at night so that farmers can water their Aman paddy fields.
The distribution companies will ensure electricity for six hours from midnight so that irrigation is not hampered.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the secretariat yesterday, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters.
The Agriculture Ministry and the Rural Electrification Board will decide about the exact timing of the electricity supply, preferably from 11pm-5am.
The decision comes at a time when the government is embarking on a rationing of power to tackle the ongoing energy crisis in the country.
This year, cultivation of Aman paddy has been affected by multiple factors – floods, high prices of diesel and fertilizer, lack of rainfall and loadshedding.
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Farmers in different districts are worried about the cultivation of Aman paddy, the second biggest rice crop and heavily reliant on monsoon rains. But crop fields have dried up in many districts due to inadequate rainfall and farmers' inability to irrigate land by using diesel-powered pumps mainly used for tilling, irrigating and threshing paddy.
Farmers are facing a severe blow as irrigation is being hampered regularly due to loadshedding for seven to eight hours in many districts each day.
While briefing the media, the cabinet secretary said a drought-like situation is being seen across the world because of a water crisis. Many have suggested offering uninterrupted supply from midnight to dawn in villages for purposes of uninterrupted irrigation.
The Rural Electrification Board has been asked to provide uninterrupted electricity supply from 11pm to 5pm or midnight to 6am, he said.
