Banke. Farmers in Banke district are happy after the under-construction Sikta Irrigation Project has started releasing water in the canal regularly.

The Sikta Irrigation Project has been releasing water in the canal throughout the year as per the demand of the farmers except for the maintenance period.

According to senior divisional engineer Manoj Kumar Sah, information officer of the project, water has been released in the canal throughout the year to meet the demand of farmers.

“We have been providing water to the farmers throughout the year as per their demand except during maintenance period,” he said, adding, “This has helped the farmers to reap economic benefits by cultivating not only paddy and wheat but also off-season vegetables in a commercial manner.” ”

According to him, the project has been implemented by constructing a dam on the Rapti River at Agaiya of Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality-2 of the district, which has targeted to irrigate 42,766 hectares of land in the district.

Farmers in Raptisonari Rural Municipality, Kohalpur Municipality and Baijanath Rural Municipality have now been able to plant paddy seeds on time after they were dependent on rainwater.

Ram Lakhan Tharu, ward chairman of Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality-7, said farmers have already planted paddy seeds in the areas where Sikta irrigated the project has reached. Stating that the farmers of Rapti Sonari Ward No. 6 and 7 of Phattepur area have already planted paddy seeds on time, he said the Sikta Irrigation Project has proved to be a boon for the farmers.

Farmers have been able to sow paddy seeds on time on 24,000 hectares of land that has regular irrigation facilities. In Banke, the electricity bed has been installed in the areas where the Sikta irrigation facility has not been reached, while in some areas, the water from drinking water taps has been used to install seed beds.

Information Officer at Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Banke, Sujita Sharma, said that only 45 per cent farmers have planted paddy seeds in the district through alternative measures. Paddy is cultivated in 33,780 hectares of land in Banke.