INSTITUTE OF WATER AND FLOOD MANAGEMENT

BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

Assignment – 2
The impact of groundwater irrigation in Barind region

Submitted to
Dr. Md. Rezaur Rahman
Professor, IWFM, BUET

Submitted by
Anisur Rahman Bayazid
Student No: 0419282031

Course no: WFM 6105

Course Name: Water and Ecosystem

Date of Submission: 09-09-2021

 The Impact of Groundwater Irrigation in Barind Region

Barind region is comprised of different physiographic regions, among which Barind Tracts are
most significant. Barind Tract comprises mid and lower western part of Rajshahi division,
between the Ganges and Brahmaputra. Barind Tract spreads over an area of about 7,770 sq km.
In the south, the Barind Tract is an older pleistocene terrace forming a small plateau with a flat
or a slightly undulating surface. This terrace consists of reddish and yellowish and partially
mottled clays and is characterised morphologically by a dendritic drainage pattern, which is
typical of all older Pleistocene terraces in Bangladesh. The Barind unit is comparatively at
higher elevation than the adjoining floodplains. The contours of the tract suggest that there are
two terrace levels - one at 40m and the other between 19.8 and 22.9m. Therefore, when the
floodplains go under water during monsoon the Barind Tract stands free from flooding and is
drained by a few small streams. About 47% of the Barind region is classified as highland, about
41% as medium-high land, and the rest are lowland. The depression at the southeast of the
Barind Tract is called the bhar basin. It includes parts of Rajshahi and Pabna districts, with its
centre in the vast marshy area called the Chalan Beel. (Ahmed, 2012)

Figure i Barind Region in North-Western Bangladesh

Before groundwater irrigation, only one crop was cultivated in this area in rainy season. After
spreading of groundwater irrigation, agriculture is flourished here, but groundwater level is
severely going down. This is making the area risky for several adverse effect like land
subsidence, biodiversity loss etc.

Agro-ecology of Barind Region:

The Barind Region is comprised of several agro-ecological zones. Most of the region is Level
Barind Tract with low lying Tista Meander Floodplain. Among the 30 major agro-ecological
zones of the country, the Barind Region has 7 zones in different proportions.

Level Barind Tract: this region is developed over madhupur clay. The landscape is almost
level. The predominant soils have a grey, silty, puddled topsoil with ploughpan. Shallow grey
terrace soil and deep grey terrace soils are the major components of general soil types of the
area. The soils are low in available moisture holding capacity and slightly acidic to acidic in
reaction. Organic matter status is very low and most of the available nutrients are limiting.

High Barind Tract: it includes the southwestern part of the Barind Tract where the underlying
Madhupur Clay had been uplifted and cut into by deep valleys. The soils include puddled silt
loam to silty clay loam in the topsoils and porous silt with mottled plastic clay at varying depth.
Deep grey terrace soils and grey valley soils are major components of the general soil types of
the area. General fertility status is low, having low status of organic matter.

North Eastern Barind Tract: this region occupies several discontinuous areas on the north-
eastern margins of the Barind Tract. It has silty or loamy topsoil and clay loams to clay subsoil.
The soils are strongly acidic in reaction. Organic matter in the soils is low. General fertility is
poor.

Tista Meander Floodplain: this region occupies the major part of the Tista floodplain as well
as the floodplain of the atrai, little jamuna, karatoya, Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers. Most areas
have broad floodplain ridges and almost level basins. There is an overall pattern of olive brown,
rapidly permeable, loamy soils on the floodplain ridges, and grey or dark grey, slowly
permeable, heavy silt loam or silty clay loam soils on the lower land and parent materials
medium in weatherable K minerals. Eight general soil types occur in the region, moderately
acidic throughout, low in organic matter content on the higher land, but moderate in the lower
parts. Fertility level is low to medium. Soils, in general, have good moisture holding capacity.

Karatoya-Bangali Floodplain: this region is very similar to the Tista Meander Floodplain in
physiography and soil, and comprises a mixture of Tista and brahmaputra sediments. Most
areas have smooth, broad, floodplain ridges and almost level basins. Organic matter contents
are generally low in the cultivated layer of ridge soils and moderate in basins. General fertility
is medium. The eastern half of bogra and most of sirajganj districts are included in this zone.

Lower Atrai Basin: this region comprises the low lying area between the barind tract and the
Ganges river floodplain. It includes the chalan beel area. Dark grey, heavy, acidic clays are
predominated in this smooth low-lying basin land. Seven general soil types occur in the region.
Organic matter, and status of other essential nutrients are medium, while level of available K
(potassium) is high. Fertility status of soils is moderate.
High Ganges River Floodplain: this region includes the western part of the Ganges River
floodplain which is predominantly highland and medium highland. Most areas have a complex
relief of broad and narrow ridges and inter-ridge depressions. The upper parts of high ridges
stand above normal flood level. Lower parts of ridges and basin margins are seasonally
shallowly flooded. Soils are slightly alkaline in reaction. General fertility level is low.

Current Agricultural Practice:

Earlier, the farmers in the Barind Tract were largely engaged in producing rice, sugarcane, jute,
wheat, and vegetables. Particularly, the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA)
brought a great success especially in rice production after its establishment in 1985 under the
Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh. In the first several years, farmers were able to grow
rice three times in a year. But unfortunately, the irrigation development project came under a
big question, whether an irrigation model reliant on Deep Tube wells is sustainable and
equitable in the long term for losing access to groundwater in some parts of the Barind region.
Currently, double cropping is the main agricultural practice, mainly Aman and Boro rice with
some vegetables in boro season. But the situation is changing rapidly and more agricultural
products and methods are introduced (Ali, 2018).
Recently, research finds, the region once again is facing a huge problem of water scarcity for
agricultural production. Consequently, the farmers have been adapting a fruit-tree dominated
agricultural system instead of traditional rainfall or irrigation-dependent agricultural system.
The farmers are moving from rice-dominant monoculture to multiple cropping which includes
inter-cropping, mixed-cropping and sequence cropping patterns. Therefore, the agriculture in
the Barind areas is experiencing a new pattern in cropping system with varieties of crop
productions following a complex crop calendar, and agroecological conditions.
Choices of crops for cultivation depends on farmers’ ability of investment and availability of
lands. The big farmers who have enough money in hand normally investment a lot with verities
of crops that en- sure sources of income all the year round. Primarily, they need enough money
in hand and ability to wait for a certain time. For example, a mango farmer needs to wait at
least two years for first-time harvesting. A guava farmer has to wait approximately 1 year for
first production and 3 years to get full-fledged production. On the contrary, marginal farmer
who has small amount of land has a different choice while they want a quick return from their
investment. In this case, as one farmer shared, farmers choose Boroi or Kul that may give a
return of 25,000–30,000 Taka from investment of 50,000 Taka in one year only. (Rana &
Moniruzzaman, 2021)
Table: Different Types of Mixed-Cropping Patterns in Barind region
Type Name of Crops
Type 1 Mango + Rice
Type 2 Mango + Vegetables + Onion + Potato + Garlic
Type 3 Mango + Vegetables
Type 4 Mango + Guava
Type 5 Mango + Mustard
Type 6 Palm Tree + Rice
Impact on Groundwater Table:
The Barind almost became an arid region due to massive deforestation. Also, due to its extreme
dry nature and relatively low rainfall the vegetation cover decreased distinctively. The area
could be picked up in satellite images as a hot and dryland. As the area was considered a low
potential area for groundwater development, agriculture used to depend on monsoon rainwater.
Therefore, there used to be only one crop and the Tract was a food deficit area. With initiatives
from local engineers, there have been new investigations for groundwater resources, and it was
found that there were good aquifers to be developed for large-scale irrigation. (Ahmed, 2012)
A project named the Barind Integrated Area Development Project (BIADP) was initiated in
mid-1980s to develop groundwater irrigation in the area. Under this project thousands of
irrigation deep tubewells have been installed, which facilitated dry season irrigation for
cultivation. As a result, agricultural production has increased, and the area has become a food
surplus area. Apart from providing irrigation, there have been other programmes such as tree
planting and excavation of ponds and khals to arrest the degradation of the environment.
Amidst these programmes, groundwater depletion continued in the area.
Recent studies have expressed apprehension about overutilization of groundwater resources
According to (Dey et al., 2017), some parts of the Barind region reveal a declining trend in
groundwater levels between 1981 and 2011. The magnitude of depletion of groundwater table
in Rajshahi district was 4–12 m during 1981–2014. (Aziz et al., 2015) show a direct relationship
between the increase in boro paddy production and groundwater depletion in the Rajshahi
district (below figure).

Farmer observations in Rajshahi and Thakurgoan reflect this concern (Silva & Leder, 2017).
Farmers in the Tanore upazila of the Rajshahi district reported that the water table in late
February had declined from about 9 meters in the mid 2000s to about 23 meters now, whereas
monsoonal recharge now causes it to rise to about 15 meters, compared to 5 or 6 meters in the
past. Similarly, interviews with deep tube well operators in Rajshahi indicate deep tube well
depths had to be increased from time to time as groundwater levels drop well beyond 30 meters
in the boro season. Deep tube well operators in some locations in Rajshahi also noted pump
breakage in the early boro season as a result of intensive use.
As of 2015, average rates of maximum depth ( dry season) and minimum depth ( wet season)
groundwater depilation are 0.23meter/year and 0.38meter/year respectively in Rajshahi district,
some upazilas these rates are much higher than that of average (Aziz et al., 2015).
Impact on Ecosystem:
A study on drought of Barind region illustrates that the climatic impacts are greater in flood
plain areas where GWT is shallow. (Rahman et al., 2017)
The major influencing factors for natural replenishment of aquifer such as, total annual rainfall
significantly reduced by about 25.6% during 1981–2014; average annual river water levels
slightly declined; wetland areas significantly reduced by about one-third; while the area
irrigated for dry season rice (boro), the main driver of groundwater depletion, has increased
about three folds during 1981–2014 (Dey et al., 2017). This indicates that the whole ecosystem
is being impacted by groundwater irrigation, with impacts from climate change.
Depletion in groundwater results in desertification. All the existing vegetation as well as
wetlands are affected by groundwater depletion.
In dry season, when the river water table is low, river water is generally recharged by
groundwater flow. When groundwater table is lower, rivers can’t flow enough water in dry
period and siltation occurs in riverbed. This results in the slow death of river. Also, as the river
depth is lowered, monsoon flood depth becomes higher and the place which face drought in
dry season, face flood in monsoon. This totally destroys the existing ecosystem of the area.

Management Options:
Any management plan, which would be taken to manage the water and ecological resources
sustainably must include local people and farmers, who are very poor. Introducing new
technology or forbidding to over exploit resources won’t be fruitful if the poor people can’t
afford it. Capacity building should be the first priority in order to take any management plan.
Crop variation from water consuming crop (paddy) to less water consuming crops (vegetables,
fruits etc.) is currently being applied and is a sustainable option for this region. Farmers who
have already transferred to this farming process have been benefitted. This should attract other
farmers for this type of farming. Also, farmers should be encouraged to cultivate low-water
demanding crops.
Increasing dependency on surface water is one of the best options but decreasing surface water
quantity and quality is a big problem to refer to this matter. Initially, introducing to groundwater
irrigation was made due to lack of surface water in the region. In the Teesta River, the mean
river water flow was found to have decreased from 147 to 110 m3/s between 1998 and 2002
(Islam et al., 2004), and the authors concluded that the Teesta River water flow was inadequate
to meet irrigation water requirements in the area.
Increasing irrigation efficiency including application of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD)
method can be a good option. More research on the topic is needed in order to apply the method
in a vast area.
Rainwater harvesting could be an option, but as it has been declined almost by 25%, efficiency
of this method wouldn’t be reliable in broader aspects. Although, Bangladesh has recently
experienced moderate rainfall during September-October. If the boro rice transplantation is
completed by November, boro cultivation may benefit from late-monsoon rains and place less
pressure on groundwater resources.
References:
Ahmed, K. M. U. (2012). Barind Tract. In Banglapedia (Online ed., Vol. 2).
Ali, M. (2018). Evolution of Agriculture in the High Barind Tract of Bangladesh.
Aziz, M. A., Majumder, M., Kabir, M., Hossain, M., Rahman, N. M. F., Rahman, F., & Hosen,
S. (2015). Groundwater Depletion with Expansion of Irrigation in Barind Tract: A Case
Study of Rajshahi District of Bangladesh. International Journal of Geology,
Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, 3, 32-38.
Dey, N. C., Saha, R., Parvez, M., Bala, S. K., Islam, A. K. M. S., Paul, J. K., & Hossain, M.
(2017). Sustainability of groundwater use for irrigation of dry-season crops in
northwest Bangladesh. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 4, 66-77.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2017.02.001
Islam, M. N., Azam, M. A., & Islam, Q. (2004). Teesta River water sharing: a case study in
Teesta barrage project. Irrigation in a total catchment context-sharing the river.
Proceedings 2nd ICID Asian Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage, Moama
NSW, Australia, 14-17 March 2004,
Rahman, A. T. M. S., Jahan, C. S., Mazumder, Q. H., Kamruzzaman, M., & Hosono, T. (2017).
Drought analysis and its implication in sustainable water resource management in
Barind area, Bangladesh. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 89(1), 47-56.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-017-0557-3
Rana, M. M. P., & Moniruzzaman, M. (2021). Transformative adaptation in agriculture: A case
of agroforestation in Bangladesh. Environmental Challenges, 2, 100026.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2021.100026
Silva, S. d., & Leder, S. (2017). Agricultural innovations for water security in North West
Bangladesh from institutional, gender, food and livelihood security perspectives. In
Working Paper under the project Improving Water Use for Dry Season Agriculture by
Marginal and Tenant Farmers in the Eastern Gangetic Plains.