The author also expresses her gratitude to all the distinguished teachers of BUET for whom the author was able to complete her master's degree. Moshiur Rahman, Project Director, SSWRDSP-2, LGED for providing logistics to the author during her educational period.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
Objectives
Technical analysis of the development potential of the Sirajpur haor sub-project using the current infrastructure; And.
Limitations of the Study
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Evolution of Small Scale Water Sector Projects
- Thana Irrigation Project (TIP, 1960)
- Canal Digging Programme (CDP, 1979-1982)
- BWDB SSFCDI Development (1980-95)
- BWDB System Rehabilitation Project (SRP)
- Shallow/Deep Tube Well Project
- LGED IDP Programme
- First Small-Scale Water Resources Development Sector Project
- Second Small-Scale Project
- Rubber Dams Project
- SSWRDP in Greater Mymensingh, Sylhet and Faridpur Areas
- Participatory Small Scale Water Resources Project (PSSWRP)
LGED has adopted all requirements of the NWP in implementing the first phase of SSWRDSP. Expanding small-scale water resources development is one of the key elements to effectively reduce rural poverty.
Impact Evaluation of SSWRDSP
- Internal evaluations
- External evaluations
- Other evaluations
To examine the performance of the subprojects, a Benefit Monitoring and Evaluation (BME) Study was created, covering 40 subprojects. Sub-project impact on fisheries: Natural fisheries appear to have been declining in most sub-projects (but not necessarily because of the sub-projects), while opportunities for cultured fisheries have increased. Productivity in the control area appeared to be high compared to that in the project area although most ponds and canals in the project area were reported to be used for fish culture throughout the year (BIDS, 2008a).
Poverty alleviation: The average monthly household income of the marginal farmers belonging to the intervention group increased from Tk. He reported that beneficiaries' dissatisfaction with WMCA/WUO activities is prevalent in most study areas. Saleh (2008) studied the impact of the Kawraid River Rubber Dam Project on agricultural performance and poverty.
Rahman (2008) studied the performance of participatory water management of some selected small-scale water resources projects of LGED. His findings were: i) a large number of beneficiaries were not aware of the WMCA's training activities, (ii) many of the EC members were not very committed to their responsibilities and there was also internal conflict within the management of the WMCA, and (iii) due to lack of proper O&M, most structures remained inactive.
CHAPTER THREE STUDY AREA
- General
- Location
- Climate and rainfall
- River Water Level
- Socio-economic situation
- Agriculture profile
- Physical components of Sirajpur Haor FCD subproject
- Water management and governance
The highlands cover 36.6% of the cultivated area, where the flood depth occasionally reaches 0 to 30 cm during monsoon. The medium lowlands cover 17.0% of the cultivated area, where seasonal floods range from 90 to 180 cm. The sub-project is located along both banks of the Sirajpur Nadi, a distributary of the Gorai River, and borders the Gorai River.
There are two water gauge stations on the Gorai River near the sub-project. One station is located at Gorai Railway Bridge, 22.50 km upstream of the starting point of Sirajpur Nadi and the other station is located at Kamarkhali, about 32.5 km downstream. It is stated that approx. 79% of the beneficiaries of the sub-project area belong to the small and marginal category (owner of less than one hectare of land).
Small Water Resources Development Projects (SSWRDSP) are designed so that water management and project management are carried out by the beneficiaries themselves. One of the main responsibilities of the WMCA is to collect 2% (on average) of the project implementation costs from the beneficiaries.
CHAPTER FOUR METHODOLOGY
- General
- Data Collection
- Primary data collection
- Secondary data collection
- Determination of Monthly Water Availability
- Computation of Irrigation Water Requirement (IWR)
- Calculation of Volume of Earth Re-excavation of Sirajpur Nadi
The water level of Sirajpur Nadi was measured at an interval of about one and a half months to estimate the loss of seepage and percolation (S&P). Rainfall data from 1961 to 2002 (Appendix D) and water level data from 1981 to 2002 for Gorai Railway Bridge and Kamarkhali were collected from BWDB. Crop cover, crop pattern, irrigation practice and performance data were collected from Upazila Agricultural Office and WMCA.
To determine the monthly water level in Sirajpur Nadi, data on water level during sluice closing time, monthly rainfall, monthly evaporation and seepage and percolation (S&P) data of Sirajpur Nadi are required. To calculate the monthly water level in the study area, the average values of the maximum and minimum water levels were taken into account. The monthly rainfall data applicable to the study area is shown in Appendix D. The water requirement for Boro paddy was estimated as it was the main irrigated crop before the project.
Since the sill level of the sluice gates constructed at 51 m of Sirajpur Nadi branch is at 8.1 m PWD, the design level of Sirajpur Nadi bottom was considered to be 0.5 m below the sill level (as per LGED design). i.e. 7.6 m PWD to the starting point of re-excavation. According to the cross-section of Sirajpur Nadi (Appendix C), the width of the channel is assumed to be 20 m and the side slope is 1.5:1.
CHAPTER FIVE
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Present Status of the Subproject
- Agriculture
- Crops and cropped area
- Development of irrigation
- Fisheries
- Water area of Sirajpur Nadi
- Fish production
- Fishers
- Water management and governance
Due to prevention of fish migration from Gorai River and re-dredging of Sirajpur Nadi, it was converted into a culture fishery production system. From discussion with WMCA members it was found that when the water level in chain 0 (near canal at Sirajpur Nadi estuary) is around 10m PWD in September then the canal gates are closed. The gates open again in June after the fish are harvested and before the onset of the monsoon.
It was expected that after the implementation of the project and with the adoption of modern culture practices, the fish yield would increase to 1800 kg/ha and the total production would be 147.6t (LGED, 1997). Due to the conversion from capture to culture fishing, poor management of the WMCA and leasing from the river to the fish farmers, the fishermen of the project area had to change occupation. Most traditional fishermen who were pre-projected were considered troublemakers by some of the influential people of WMCA for speaking about their rights on Sirajpur Nadi.
As a result, some influential people of WMCA force them to leave the project area. The WMCA was established under the legal framework of the Co-operative Societies Act, 2001 and the Co-operative Rules framed thereunder.
Technical Analysis for Development Potentials
- Assessment of water availability in Sirajpur Nadi
- Assessment of water demand for irrigation
- Adequacy of supply from Sirajpur Nadi and demand for irrigation
- Assessment of water availability for fisheries
- Assessment of re-excavation cost and profit from fish culture
- Discussion on development potential
Thus, the maximum area that can be brought under HYV Boro irrigation with the available supply from Sirajpur Nadi (assuming all available water is used for irrigation only) is 11 ha (about 3% of 345 ha). Thus, it is evident that irrigation of 345 ha of HYV Boro (as envisaged in the Project Appraisal Report) is not possible with the available supply from Sirajpur Nadi. There is no estimate of water requirement for irrigation of 345 ha of HYV Boro or availability of water from Sirajpur Nadi for irrigation of above mentioned area in the assessment report.
Considering the current water area (18.3 ha) and the potential level of production of 2300 kg/ha (BIDS, 2008), the potential fish production from Sirajpur Nadi is about 42.5 mt. The gradual silting up of Sirajpur Nadi has also limited the potential fishery development of the river. However, at a number of parts of the current river (Appendix C) the riverbed has been raised by up to 2m due to siltation.
An attempt was made to analyze the cost of re-dredging Sirajpur Nadi to restore the desired depth for fish culture. As mentioned earlier, the illegal settlements have resulted in the reduction of the water surface of the river from the pre-project level of 82 ha to only about 18 ha.
Assessment of the rehabilitation potentials through people’s participation
- FGDs with the farmers
- FGDs with the fishermen
- FGDs with WMCA
- Interview with the local officials
- Discussion on development potential
Most of the fishermen who participated in the FGDs are either fish farmers or their employees. These fishermen take yearly rent of various rooms in Sirajpur Nadi from WMCA. When asked about the future potential of the Sirajpur Haor project, the fishermen mentioned that they are satisfied with the current status of the project, but they would like the rooms and re-excavation work done to improve fish production.
From the discussions with the members of the WMCA, it was clear that the WMCA was unaware of the irrigation development target as mentioned in the Evaluation Report. But the UN reiterated that any further encroachment of the flood plain was stopped with the help of the local politicians. The Upazila Fisheries Officer (UFO) informed that the fishery potential of the project remained underutilized.
At present, the project's fishing potential remains underutilized, and in the future fish production can be increased with proper management (technical, social and institutional) and re-dredging of the river. In future, the rehabilitation of the Sirajpur Haor project should be limited to re-dredging the river only.
CHAPTER SIX
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
Recommendations
Because frequent floods and drought cycles occur in many places in the country, sustainable water management is crucial for rural development. The government's foodgrain production plan, in line with the Millennium Development Goal (MDG), places great emphasis on the appropriate use of water resources. Meanwhile, the government has introduced major reforms in the water sector with the formulation of the National Water Policy (NWP) in 1999 and the National Water Management Plan (NWMP) in 2001.
It was proposed that re-dredging of Sirajpur Nadi for 6.40 km and construction of Water Retention Structure (WRS) will save more water during dry season and create opportunity for irrigation on a strip of land of about 500 meters (about 470 ha ) and will develop fishing. Although the Sirajpur Haor sub-project was implemented with a participatory water management approach, the objectives of the sub-project were not achieved. This study aimed to find the reasons for the poor performance and extent of rehabilitation of the sub-project with a participatory approach.
In assessing the functions and performance of the WMCA, it was deemed necessary to take into account the views of local government representatives (e.g. Union Parishad chairmen and members) and local political elites. Although the local government representatives are not explicitly involved in the activities of the WMCA, their implicit activities had a direct influence on the performance of the WMCA in the study area.
