An organised gang of thieves is active at night in Chapainawabganj, removing transformers and irrigation pumps one after another. At least 50 pumps and transformers have been stolen in the past three months from the west field of Nandanpur in Shajahanpur union, Sadar upazila.

Ten motors were stolen in a single night on 30 March. Irrigation has been badly disrupted, and local farmers are worried: with no water, the land is drying out and boro paddy production is suffering.

Local people complain that despite repeated thefts there is not enough security, and complaints to the rural electricity office and the police station have brought no remedy. They say that unless the pump thefts stop, paddy on about 200 bighas will dry up and be lost.

Latifur Hamman, a farmer in Shajahanpur union, said at least five of his motors and one transformer had been stolen in the past year. "How much money can you keep spending to buy them again and again? On top of that there is a fuel crisis. We are not getting oil, and there is a diesel shortage too," he said.

Jahangir Alam, a farmer in the Hakim area, said his motor had been stolen two days earlier. Within four days, one motor each belonging to Khalil, Nasir, Matiur Rahman, Matin and Rashid and three belonging to Mofiz Ali had also been stolen, he said.

Farmers said the diesel shortage and higher prices of farm inputs were already costing them extra to grow crops, with the risk of not getting a fair price still ahead. The theft of water motors and transformers has added a new fear.

Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila agriculture officer Sunain Bin Zaman said crops in the char areas needed extra irrigation and could not be grown without timely water. Expressing concern about the thefts, he said solar panels or dug wells could be added in future as an alternative.

Howlader Md Fazlur Rahman, general manager of the Chapainawabganj Palli Bidyut Samity, said regular meetings and campaigns were being held to raise awareness among farmers and local people to prevent theft, and strict action would be taken if anyone from his own office was involved.

Asked about the matter, Chapainawabganj additional superintendent of police ANM Wasim Firoz denied the farmers' complaint, saying no one had filed a complaint at the police station. Where complaints had been received, police had worked on them and recovered many goods, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.