Sikta Farmers' Frustration

It’s been 12 years since the Sikta Irrigation Project started. The project, which is believed to irrigate more than 80 per cent arable land in Banke district, has just achieved 57 per cent physical and financial progress. It consumed more than needed time and costs. Adding salt to injury, the 35 km long main canal was damaged at multiple locations while testing the water supply. 

The canal was damaged as no soil testing was conducted before the initiation of the work, according to the Inspection Team of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. The alignment of the canal should be changed at multiple locations and repair works are needed at many places, needing additional costs and time. The ministry is testing the soil now. It is like putting the cart before the horse. It’s an instance of sheer negligence of the respective government agencies. 

Bad luck of this country is that Sikta is not a stand-alone development project which is delayed and poorly executed. This is just a representative of myriad development projects being undertaken in the country. The delayed development results in time and cost overrun which directly hits the state’s coffers, farmers’ production and overall development of the project area.

Timely completion of large infrastructure projects gives impetus to the economic progress as it spurs more production, market development and establishment of processing and ancillary industries. 

These all create an impressive demand for the human resources, thus increasing the income of the people in the locality and raising their living standards and providing them with disposable money which can be spent on quality health service and education. 

If Sikta was completed in time, many farmers in Banke could adopt commercial agriculture and get involved in the farming of high-cash crops and vegetables. Increased agro production could have demanded the establishment of agro-processing industries, cold storage facility and commercial animal husbandry. Business of agricultural inputs would also have flourished. All these economic activities could be operated by the private sector. The dam site of the irrigation project and canal could be a great tourist attraction. 

If the government is able to complete the construction of the canal in time, including its sub-supply lines, and supply water to the fields, the rest of the development would take place automatically. But the opportunity has been missed, and the field that were supposed to be irrigated by now are undergoing plotting for the housing instead. 

In addition, the damage in the main canal has forced the government to form an inspection team and the anti-graft authority Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA), has sent a team for field observation. These activities also increase the operation costs of the project. 

But, rising frustration of the farmers and other businessmen in Banke is irreparable. Individuals and agencies responsible for the failure of this pride project must be punished and efforts must be made to recover the losses.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 September 2018.