About 400 Thakurgaon farmers have been struggling to bring their land under Boro irrigation for long as the local power authorities have allegedly ignored to give power connection to newly-installed 101 deep tube-wells for long.
Consequently 3,000 hectares of the farmers under five upazilas remain out of the irrigation net.
Sources said this may impact production set by the agriculture office.
On the other hand, many farmers have started setting up shallow pumps for irrigation which will eventually double the production cost.
The local agriculture office set a target of 245,393 tonnes of rice from 61,859 hectares for the current Boro season.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authorities last year installed 107 deep tube-wells in the upazila to ensure smooth Boro cultivation.
Of them, only 6 managed to get electricity connection as both Barind and local power authorities are locked in blame game in this regard.
Farmers Tawhidul Islam and Abul Kasem in Sadar upazila said almost eight months had elapsed since the tube-wells were set up. They were facing much trouble as they had earlier sold their shallow machines expecting electricity connection.
Another farmer named Shahaduddin said his production cost had doubled as he began to irrigation with shallow pumps. Rather, delay in irrigation might decrease his production volume as well, he continued.
Joyanti Sarker, from Bhomradah village in Pirganj upazila, said they welcomed the project to get low cost irrigation facility, but their dreams faded away want of electricity connection.
Farmers, namely Dipo Rai and Joyesri, from the upazila, said ten shallow machines are needed in lieu of only one deep tube-well.
Thakurgaon Palli Bidyut Samity General Manager (GM) Khalekuzzaman denied the allegation of delay in electricity connection, saying they did not receive any application in this regard from the Varendra authorities.
Those applications placed for deep tube-well connection to them already secured permission, the GM continued.
On the contrary, Varendra Multipurpose Development Authority Executive Engineer Shahidur Rahman termed the claim of GM Khalekuzzaman baseless.
