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While farmers across much of Madhes Province are still waiting for rainfall to begin paddy plantation, those in Dhanusha and Siraha districts served by the Kamala Irrigation Canal have already started planting rice in full swing.

Farmers began planting paddy after the Kamala Irrigation Management Office, based in Portaha of Dhanusha, released water into the canal system.

The office has been supplying irrigation water to the western canal in Dhanusha and the eastern canal in Siraha since June 27.

Chief of the Kamala Irrigation Management Office, Randhir Kumar Sah, said that although the canals were traditionally brought into operation from July 17 each year, water was released earlier this year in response to farmers' needs.

According to him, the western canal in Dhanusha provides irrigation to 12,500 hectares of farmland, while the eastern canal in Siraha irrigates another 12,500 hectares, bringing the otal irrigated area to 25,000 hectares.

He added that the expansion of smaller distributary and branch canals in recent years has increased irrigation coverage to nearly 30,000 hectares.

In Dhanusha, the western canal system supplies irrigation to eight local levels, Ganeshman Charnath, Sabaila, Shahidnagar, Bideha, Kamala, Hansapur, Aurahi and Janaknandani municipalities.

Likewise, the eastern canal system in Siraha serves Karjanha, Mirchaiya, Kalyanpur, Siraha and Aurahi municipalities and rural municipalities. According to Sah, the project has developed a network of around 500 kilometres of main and branch canals across the two districts.

Sah said that water is currently being discharged into both main canals at a rate of 14,000 litres per second each. He added that the Hardinath Irrigation Project, which also falls under the office, provides irrigation to an additional 2,000 hectares of farmland.

He further said that several Water Users’ Committees have been formed with farmers’ participation to ensure effective irrigation management.

The Kamala Irrigation Project, regarded as one of Nepal’s major irrigation schemes, was inaugurated on November 11, 1960 by the then Minister for Irrigation, Ganesh Man Singh. It has been providing regular irrigation services since 1983.

Ram Pukar Yadav, a farmer from Baramjhiya in Ward No. 9 of Ganeshman Charnath Municipality, Dhanusha, said that paddy plantation was progressing rapidly in areas covered by the Kamala Canal system.

He said that the availability of canal water had removed concerns over irrigation for rice cultivation.

Yadav said that, as in the previous year, rainfall has remained inadequate this season, but farmers have been able to begin planting because irrigation water has reached their fields.

He added that farmers in areas beyond the canal network are relying on deep tube wells and electric pumps connected to wells for irrigation, while those without any irrigation facilities are still waiting for rainfall.

Another farmer from the area, Bali Sharma, said that unlike in previous years, water had been released into the canal on time this season, making it easier for farmers to transplant paddy. He noted that most fields located near the canal currently face no irrigation shortage.

According to data published by the Agriculture Development Directorate, Madhes Province, as of July 3, only 6,555 hectares, around 15 per cent, of Dhanusha’s 43,700 hectares of paddy-cultivable land had been planted.

Across all eight districts of Madhes Province, paddy transplantation had been completed on 59,895.06 hectares out of a total cultivable area of 385,933 hectares by the same date, representing 14.73 per cent of the province's total paddy-growing land.

By Bijay Kumar Sah, Dhalkebar