08
Situation Analysis
LGED subproject Bhagirabad-Jainkathi, Patuakhali Sadar, Patuakhali
Report from
Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4
1.1. Aim of the report ................................................................................................................4 1.2. Methodology ......................................................................................................................4 1.3. Overview of Jainkathi Sub Project Area ................................................................................6 1.3.1. Location and accessibility...................................................................................................... 6 1.3.2. Basic Facilities Access ............................................................................................................ 9 1.3.3. History of polder Bagirabad LGED Sub Project ..................................................................... 9
5. MAINTENANCE OF PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ............................................. 23 6. SSWRDSP: PROJECT PROCESS AND RESULTS ........................................................ 25
6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.6. 6.7. Small-Scale Water Resources and Development Sector Project ......................................... 25 WMCA formation ............................................................................................................. 25 WMCA Meetings: durability over time? ............................................................................ 26 Sub-committees and Training .......................................................................................... 26 WMCA as a cooperative: the role of microcredit and loans................................................ 27 Perception of WMCA........................................................................................................ 28 Participation, Gender and representativeness ................................................................... 29
7. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 30
7.1. 7.2. 7.3. i) ii) Irrigation scarcity and silted canals .................................................................................. 30 WMCA as a governance structure ..................................................................................... 30 Sustainability or dependence?........................................................................................... 31 Government Agencies .......................................................................................................... 32 NGOs .................................................................................................................................. 33
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Aim of the report
Based on Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews, this report aims to create a detailed situation analysis of polder Jainkathi Sub Project in Patuakhali district. It will do so by providing: i) A historical narrative of the polder from the time it was constructed to present; ii) Farming systems and livelihoods options; iii) Current state of the polder infrastructure; iv) Examining the results and process of the water management intervention by the LGED v) Reviewing how maintenance of water infrastructure takes place; vi) Reviewing how operation of sluice gates take place and vii) Discussing main conflicts. It will then conclude by discussing the main findings and implementable policy recommendations that came from the respondents for improving water management in the Polder called Bagirabad, Jainkathi Sub Project of the LGED.
1.2.
Methodology
Four Focus Group Discussions and eight Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted by the Shushilan research team from 8th to 10th April, 2012. While the FGDs were held in four sub villages (para) of village Bagirabad, the KIIs with farmers were held at their village home and the KIIs with officials were held at the respective offices in the UP and Upazila headquarters. The map below describes where the FGDs have been conducted. The FGD locations and participants were selected to represent various parts of the village, distance from the sluice gates, the gate condition and concentration of various types of farming, particularly paddy and betel leaves cultivation. A glance look of the FGD participants reveals the following: The general FGD groups met at North para (Northeast part of the village) had 7 participants including 5 women. All own land one to two acres. One man and all women are Hindus. Ages varied from 24 to57. Of the two men one is crop as well as fish farmer and the other is a tailor. All women are housewife. All seven are WMCA members. The general FGD group met at South para had 11 participants, all Hindus. It had 5 women and all 5 are landless. Of the six men, one is a landless, others own land between 1.0 to 10.0 acres. Of the six men 4 are farmers, one mason and one handicraft producer. All five women are housewife and all 11 are WMCA members. Ages varied from 30 to 80. The WMCA FGD had eight participants including 2 women. All eight are WMCA members. Of the six men, one is a teacher and another one is a rural medical practitioner (village doctor). The other four are farmers. All own land from 0.30 to 10.00 acres. The women are housewife. Age varied from 42 to 90. The LCS group met comprises five landless women of age 18-55. All stated to be housewife although they work in the LCS. 4
Location North para, Northeast side of the polder South para (Southwest side of the polder) Moddhya para (Middle part of the polder) Bagirabad, Jainkathi Table 1 -
Village & UP Bagirabad, Jainkathi Bagirabad, Jainkathi Bagirabad, Jainkathi Bagirabad, Jainkathi
Canals Chandanbaria (open), Kalibari (open) Chandanbaria (open), Kalibari (open) and Talukdarbari (closed) Chandanbaria (open) and Talukdarbari (closed) Chandanbaria (open), Kalibari (open) and Talukdarbari (closed)
Respondent Type UP Chairman UP member Paddy farmer WMCA-president WMCA-women member Woman household head Landless CO-LGED
Table 2 -
Village/ Venue Bagirabad Bagirabad Bagirabad Bagirabad Bagirabad Bagirabad Bagirabad Bagirabad
1.3.
1.3.1. Location and accessibility Location The Jainkathi Sub Project polder of LGED is located at Bagirabad village in Jainkathi UP of Sadar Upazila in Patuakhali district. The polder area is surrounded by the Chandanbaria canal in the north, east and south while the western boundary is formed by Jainkathi Patuakhali road. The polder area has one village, Bagirabad. The adjoining village in the south is Shehakathi of the same UP. Geographical characteristics The land in the beel area was regularly inundated by tide when it was not regulated by embankment and sluice gates. Presently, after constructing the embankment by the LGED, it is not inundated by tide water but it faces drainage problem, because one gate in the south is closed and the canal blocked by the adjoining landowners. About one third of the polder is relatively high land and the high lands almost surround the river, particularly from the northwest through east to southwest. The yellow colored (on the map) high land area accommodates the homesteads and betel leaves plantation. The homestead area and the road sides are full of 6
trees, hence looks very green. The soil is clay loam type in the middle and loam type in the peripheral high lands. The extreme northwest and south have two canals draining water from the lower middle part to the Chandanbaria khal. Since the Talukdarbari gate (number 2) is closed, the polder has now only one drainage outlet and irrigation inlet, the Shorif bari or Kalibari gate (number 1). The southern and eastern part is elevated and the land slopes towards northwest. Hence the Shorifbari gate can serve the need of drainage purpose to a great extent (not fully) but it cannot provide water for irrigation to all areas, particularly the southeast part remains un-served. Accessibility The sub project area is located six kms south of Patuakhali town. It is connected to the town by a paved road from Jainkathi UP office to the southeast corner of the town. This is the only paved road from the polder area located in the western boundary. The LGED embankment along the Chandanbaria canal serves as an internal unpaved road. In the past, people used country boat and motor launch service to go to the town but now, because of road development, waterway is rarely used for this short distance. However, people still use motor launce service for longer travel to Dhaka or to nearby Upazila, Golachipa. Boats are still used for going to markets like Kalagacia in the southeast, 10 kms downstream on river Lohalia. Nearest motor launch stations are Shehakathi 2 kms southeast and Patuakhali, 6 kms north. Nearest bus station is nine kms north in Patuakhali town. Most frequent mode of transport is rickshaw, rickshaw van and three wheeler battery operated auto rickshaw. Bus service and motor launch service are availed after arriving Patuakhali town. 1.3.2. Demographic features Table 3 below provides basic demographic features of the Bagirabad Jainkathi Sub Project polder. The polder has just one village surrounded by it, Bagirabad of Jainkathi UP. The adjoining village in the south is Shehakathi of the same UP. The Table 3 provides information of village Bagirabad which is the polder area. Information of Jainkathi UP and Patuakhali Sadar Upazila of which Bagirabad is a part is provided for comparison. Area of the polder is about 32 ha as noted in the IWM map. Its a very small polder where only about 325 people live as per population census 2011 but is density is much higher than that of the Upazila and the UP as a whole. Average household size, 4.6 is very similar to that of the Upazila and UP but sex ratio is quite low 91 male per 100 female. While the UP and the Upazila have 93 to 94 percent Muslim population, village Bagirabad has 71% Hindu population. Only about 47% of the total population and 39% of female population are literate in the polder which is lower than both UP and Upazila. Village Bagiraba, despite having high proportion of Hindu population which is supposed to have higher literacy, has low literacy. The reason is, until recent years children could not go to school for poor road condition, it was not possible for the children to go to school as the roads either submerged or became extremely muddy.
Village Bagirabad Area (Sq km) Household Population Total Density Household Size Male Population Female Population Sex Ratio Religion Muslim % Hindu % Christian and others % Literacy All Literacy M Literacy F
Table 3 -
UP Jainkathi 25.35 3,786 17,514 691 4.63 8,601 8,913 96 93.9 6.1 0 47.7 50.9 44.7
Upazila Patuakhali Sadar 362.62 68,813 316,162 872 4.59 155,395 161,067 96 92.6 7.3 0.1 59.5 62.7 56.5
0.32 71 325 1,016 4.58 155 170 91 28.9 71.1 0 46.6 55.9 38.5
Source: BBS. Population Census 2011. Community Series for Patuakhali district.
Table 4 below shows employment status of male and female population (age 7+ not attending school) of village Bagirabad, UP Jainkathi and Upazila Patuakhali Sadar. In village Bagirabad, a little over two thirds of the male labor force was working, 25% reported non-working and 8% reported to be involved in own household work. This data should however be read with caution because it refers to only 25 male labor force against total male population of 125. The UP and Upazila data with larger absolute population however show a bit higher proportion of people working (75-79% (a bit lower proportion non-working (17-20%) and male workers in household chores much lower (3-4%). In Bagirabad, about 74% of the female labour force is reported to be engaged in household chores and 26 percent reported non-working. High proportion of non-working is reported for the inclusion of 7 to 14 years old children (both boys and girls) in the of definition labor force. Village Bagirabad Population age 7+ not in school Male Female % Employed Male % Employed Female %Looking for Job Male %Looking for Job Female %Household work Male %Household work Female %Not working Male %Not working Female
Table 4 -
UP Jainkathi 4,082 1,711 2,371 78.8 2.6 0.8 0.3 3.1 82.6 17.2 14.6
Upazila Patuakhali Sadar 54,990 23,162 31,828 75.3 5.5 1.2 0.4 3.9 72.0 19.6 22.2
Employment Status of Male and Female Population of age 7+ not attending school
Village Bagirabad Agriculture % of male worker Agriculture % of female worker Industry % of male worker Industry % of female worker Services % of male worker Services % of female worker
Table 5 -
62.5
37.5
Source: BBS, Population Census, 2011. Community Series for Patuakhali district
Table 5 above shows distribution of employed male and female (household chores excluded) by broad economic sectors. In Bagirabad, about 63% male workers were engaged in agriculture and remaining 37% in services. This date should be read with caution as the figures are too low, eight male workers only. The distribution by sector is better reflected by the UP and Upazila data. 1.3.3. Basic Facilities Access Table 6 below shows access to basic facilities like sanitation, drinking water and electricity. About one third of the households in Bagirabad still use non sanitary latrine compared to 21-22% in the UP and Upazila. Access to drinking water Tube well is nearly universal in the area while about 63% households in Bagirabad have electricity. Village Bagirabad Sanitary Toilet water sealed % Sanitary not water sealed % Non sanitary% No latrine % Water source: TW/Tape % Electricity Connected %
Table 6 -
addition the west boundary is formed by a paved road constructed earlier and some sections of earthen roads. The embankment constructed By the LGED is located along the Chandanbaria canal in the north, east and south. Expectations and Objective of Sub Project Interventions The subproject aimed to protect mainly aman and aus paddy and homestead area from tidal inundation. Before constructing the LGED embankment, the whole area was inundated by tide water and also homesteads were inundated. There was no dry land and there was no road inside of the village. Only HBB road was located in the western boundary of the polder. In the absence of road, school enrolment was low and illiteracy was very high. Still illiteracy is high but present generation children are attending school. Physical Environment After constructing the embankment along with other interventions (re-excavation of canals and constructing two structure), the physical environment has improved considerably. Presently the agricultural and homestead areas are not inundated by tide water twice a day, the homesteads are not isolated from the road network. People have better access to school, heath service and financial institutions like Grameen Bank. Fetching water from the nearby tube wells is more convenient and children are attending school as the roads are no longer muddy or submerged. Women and children particularly need not keep them confined up the bamboo cod inside of the room as one step below is tide water. With the project making the main outer road in three sides and other government project upgrading the main road in the western boundary, the scenario of the polder as a whole has changed. It is no longer an isolated village but now well integrated to local as well as national road and waterway networks. Besides developing the main embankment cum road by the LGED sub project, the local government has improved inner roads now linking most homesteads to road network. After having the embankment and roads, people have elevated their homesteads and monsoon rains do not flood them. As a result, tree plantation has increased and now the roads, embankment and the homesteads took very green.
10
In the past, three main occupations were crop farming, livestock rearing and fishing. In the 1990s, before embankment, livestock declined, fishing also declined and crop farming declined too, all because of increased pressure of flood. Then people from the area migrated to other areas for seasonal employment and many migrated to urban areas. Now crop farming opportunity improved and people find work in the area. Figure-1 below shows change of cropping with the polder development. Before 2000-2001 when polder was not constructed, only local aus and local aman could be grown and for that too, yields were very low. Traditional broadcast aus and aman mixed seed were sown together in April, aus was harvested in July, aman plants continued to grow with flood water rising. In the same piece of land khesari seeds were sown in November. In December aman paddy was harvested butb khesari plants stayed with paddy roots. In FebMarch khesari was harvested. This was a traditional risk minimization strategy. Although three crops cultivated, yield was low due to flood or other hazards. In early to mid 1980s B. Aman and B. Aus mixed was replaced initially by T. Aus and T. Aman. But in mid 1980s to early 1990s Aus discontinued as Aus plantation was not possible. In this period pressure of flood water increased when polder built in the surrounding area but Bagirabad not protected by any polder. Before embankment, yield of aman paddy per acre was only about 10 mounds and with 30% chance of crop failure it was effectively 7 mounds. Yield of Aus Paddy was only about 6 mounds and with 50% chance of crop failure it was effectively 3 mounds. So, yield per acre of two paddy crops taken together was only about 13 mounds. Still, farmers tended to cultivate both aus and aman hoping that at least one will have good yield. During this period, fish was abundantly available, particularly until late 1980s then it declined gradually and now very little fish are available in the nature. Cattle rearing too was difficult as all land was flooded, no space to make cattle shed. Few buffaloes were reared as they survive in wetland condition. After 2001 when polder has been constructed, besides local aman, a number of other crops were introduced. Presently, the crops grown include local aman paddy but HYV aman is grown in part of the beel area where water depth in monsoon is only about half feet. In the deeper part of the beel, still, local aman is the main crop. The local aman varieties cultivated include lalmota, sada mota, dudkolam etc. In the elevated part of the beel local fine rice chinigura is grown during aman season. HYV aman grown include BR 23 and BR 11 and BR 39. The main aus variety is mala irri (ann aus HYV). HYV boro is cultivated in limited area. Perennial crop betel leaf is grown in round the year. Other crops grown include pulses (khesari, maskolai, mug bean, palleng daal, lentil), oilseeds (sesame and mustard), spices (chili), vegetables (okra, brinjal, bitter gourd, cucumber), groundnut and sweet potato. These are grown in the robi season except vegetables which are grown round the year.
11
Up to 1980s
Mixed B. Aus local and B. Aman local, relay crop Khesari. Fishing, livestock
Main Crop Local T. Aus & T. Aman. Fishing on the decrease. Cattle buffaloes decreasing
Local Aman, HYV Aman, HYV Aus, HYV Boro, Betel leaves, Rabi Crops, homestead pond
The above table illustrates the dramatic change in cropping diversity. During this time, cereal production had increased from 339.0 in the pre-project time to 727.0 tons.
1999 1,900.0 4,100.0 2002 2,000.0 3,000.0 2,500.0 25,000.0 2003 1,655.0 3,458.0 2,050.0 1,853.0 2,700.0 2,300.0 1,500.0 2,841.0 2,717.0 2004 3,581.5 2,223.0
Kharif-1/Aus (Premonsoon)
B Aus HYV Aus LT Aus Vegetables Jute LT aman DW Aman(Transplanted ) HYV T Aman Vegetables Onion/Chili HYV Boro Wheat Mung Mustard Local Boro Potato Vegetables Sesame Green Mung Pulse Spices
Kharif-2/Aman (Monsoon)
2,000.0 15,000.0 1,000.0 5,300.0 2,200.0 1,100.0 1,100.0 4,446.0 988.0 1,988.4 3,211.0 24,700.0 37,050.0 1,000.4 1,482.0 1,741.4
4,076.0
4,446.0 9,694.5
Rabi/Boro (Winter)
Table 7 -
12
2.2.
Land use
In the elevated area (about 35%), 15% is under homesteads (all season vegetables, fruits and timber trees, aquaculture, turmeric, arum), 10% water bodies (ponds and ditches) and 10% under betel leaves plantation. In the low land area (65%) the main crop grown is aman paddy in the kharif 2 season and pulses (khesari, mungbean, lentil, maskolai, peleng daal etc), water melon, melon, sweet potato, chili, sesame etc. during robi season. Aus paddy cultivation has now decreased to only about 10% area and Boro HYV also in about 10% area. On the whole 75% area is under crop production including 10% area under perennial crop betel leaves. About 15% area is under homesteads and 10% under water bodies (ponds & ditches). The above figures are worked out based on the discussion with several informants including former Vice Chair of the WMCA and a teacher living in the village. Both have farming as well as salaried service as occupation.
2.3.
The farming system emerged from the discussion and is currently existing is following: Perennial crop betel leaves (10% area). Fallow (aus season) followed by Aman with relay cropping of khesari (30% area). Aus (Mala Irri) followed by Aman (10% area). Fallow in Aus season followed by Aman and HYV Boro (10% area) Fallow in Aus season followed by Aman and robi crops (mung bean, lentil, chili, winter vegetables, melon, water melon, sesame, sweet potato, groundnut etc. (15% area).
Total of above is 75% area, the remaining 25% area under homesteads, ponds etc and this area is used for homestead gardening. 2.3.1. Crop Seasons
Crop/ Fish Aus Seedbed T. Aus Aman Seedbed T. Aman Boro Seedbed Boro HYV Khesari Robi Crops Vegetables Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Note:
Khesari is relayed with aman. Seeds are sown in aman area a month before harvest. Seedbeds are made in small plots in the elevated land then transplanted in the main plots.
Table 8 Crop Calendar
13
Table 9 below shows details of various crops grown in various seasons and approximate yield.
Crop T-Aman Paddy HYV T. Aman Local Paddy T-Aus Paddy Boro paddy HYV Variety Dudh kalam BR-39 BR-11 Lal mota Sada mota Dud kolam, Cinigura Mala Irri Season Kharif -2 Duration Jul-Aug Harvesting Nov-Dec Jul-Aug Harvesting Nov-Dec Apr-July Irrigation No irrigation required / rain water, canal water through sluice gate No irrigation required / rain water, canal water through sluice gate Mainly rain-fed, canal and sluice gate water Irrigation is needed (Irrigation block- LLP) canal water through sluice gate Little/No irrigation required No irrigation required Yield (rice kg/ha) 40 mound pddy/acre = 2,600 kg rice/ha 30 mound paddy per acre = 1976 kg rice/ha 25 mound paddy per acre = 1646 kg rice per ha 60 mound paddy/acre = 3952 kg rice/ha Per acre 200 mounds Per acre Tk. 1,333,333 = Tk. 3,2933,333/ha Good Per acre 80-100 mound =7,904 kg/ha 30 mound per acre = 2,964 kg/ha % of area under the crop 20% of the beel area (13% of whole aea) 80% of the beel (52% of whole area) 10% of the beel area (6.5% of whole area) 10% of the beel area (6.5% of whole area)
Kharif-2
Kharif -1
Feb-May
10% area 2%
Feb-Apr
No irrigation required
2.3.2. Irrigation Sources Aus and Aman paddy are mainly rain-fed as they are grown in monsoon season. But farmers in Bagirabad have an advantage that they can irrigate by taking in water from the canals using the sluice Sharifbari gate. Farmers in the southeast face difficulty of irrigation as the Talukdarbari gate is closed. LLP is used to irrigate in the HYV boro season and also for a number of robi crops, vegetables and betel leaves. However no irrigation is used for khesari, lentils, mustard etc.
14
2.4.
Before embankment, HYV aman was not cultivated. Only local variety aman was cultivated in the most of the area and yield was only 10 mounds paddy per acre and still having chance of frequent crop failure. Making allowance for crop failure, yield was only about 7 mounds paddy per acre. This is equivalent to 463 kg rice per ha. Aus paddy was produced in some land in the upper of peripheral area and yield was only 6 mounds paddy par acre and chance of crop failure was about 50:50. Making allowance for crop failure yield per acre was only about 3 mounds paddy per acre which is equivalent to 199 kg rice per ha. No other crop was important. Vegetables, chili, sweet potato etc were cultivated in small areas around homestead land or canal sides. These were of so little significance that respondent felt it not worth mentioning. After constructing embankment, both local and HYV aman are cultivated, still local aman in larger area and HYV aman in smaller area, roughly in the ratio of 80:20. Yield of local aman is 30 mounds paddy per acre which is equivalent to 1976 kg rice per ha. Yield of HYV aman is 40 mounds paddy per acre equivalent to 2635 kg rice per ha. Boro HYV is cultivated in about 10% area and yield is 60 mounds paddy per acre equivalent to 3952 kg rice per acre. Aus HYV is cultivated in about 10% area and yield is 25 mound paddy per acre equivalent to 1647 kg rice per ha. Betel leaf is produced in about 10% area. Yield was not mentioned in quantity but it was said that from one katha (0.03 acre) land, expected yearly sale is Tk. 40,000 which is equivalent to Tk. 1.3 million per acre or Tk. 3.29 million per ha. Farmers experience indicated that one half of it is cost of production, the other half is farmers income. Profitability Profitability or cost of production and return to farmers has been calculated for local Aman, HYV aman, HYV Boro, Local Aus, Khesari and betel leaves. These are noted below at Table 9. These are the crops occupying 10% or above land of the polder area. Items of Cost/ Return Land preparation Seed/ Seedling Sowing/ planting Weeding/ crop care Fertilizer/ pesticide Irrigation Harvesting Materials (bamboo) Total Cost Yield (mound) Price Tk/unit Total value of crop Gross return Imputed family lab Imputed land rent Net return
Source:
Local Aman 2,000 2,000 3,000 500 3,000 10,500 30 800 24,000 13,500 4,000 1,500 8,000
HYV Aman 2,000 2,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 4,000 14,000 40 800 32,000 18,000 5,000 3,000 10,000
HYV Aus 2,000 2,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 3,000 13,000 25 800 20,000 7,000 4,000 2,000 1,000
HYV Boro 2,000 2,000 3,000 3,000 2,000 3,000 5,000 21,000 60 700 42,000 21,000 6,000 6,000 9,000
Betel leaves 60,000 60,000 120,000 60,000 60,000 10,000 60,000 200,000 630,000 NA 1,300,000 670,000 240,000 60,000 370,000
Calculation based on FGD and KII and Follow up discussion with Mr. Kumud Roy, Teacher and Farmer
Table 10 -
15
2.5.
Livestock
Until 1980s, Bagirabad people had many buffaloes and cattle. In the 1990s both cattle and buffaloes declined. Cattle rearing became difficult as pressure of flood water increased when polders were constructed in the surrounding areas. Another reason for decreasing livestock is in the 1990s is the introduction of power tiller for tillage purpose hence farmers need to rear cattle and buffaloes declined. After 2000 the opportunity of cattle rearing increased and but it did not increase much because of the decreased need for animal power in agriculture. Power tiller has to a great extent replaced buffaloes and cattle to plough the land. Now people in Bagirabad are rearing cow for milk rather than bullocks for tillage. Buffaloes are still seen but in less number. However, compared to shrimp area, this polder has higher density of cattle and buffaloes and the animals look relatively healthy.
2.6.
Fisheries
Though agricultural productivity and diversification has increased since the construction of the LGED embankment, fisheries has been in decline. In addition, it was mentioned that fish was previously abundant in the canals and wetlands of the area, making it easy to collect fish fries for homestead ponds. However, the participants of the General FGD noted that many species of fish have been lost in the past decade. There is no way but to eat fish by buying/Pulin Chandra, General FGD. According to LGED (2008) wild fish had reduced from 10.6 ton to 1 ton after the polder was built. There is no commercial cultivation of fish or shrimp in the subproject.
2.7.
This is a small community of approximately 80 households sharing four deep tubewells. There are no personal tubewells. The existing tubewells were installed through the Union Parishad, though someone also mentioned the Danish donor Danida. Though there are deep tubewells, the respondents complained about the distance of fetching water and would prefer having one deep tubewell per household. In addition, the Labour Contracting Societies (LCS) consisting of landless and/or poor women complained over drinking water scarcity and that they would have to collect water half a mile away. though this could have been stated by the women living outside the subproject area. There is no contamination of salinity or arsenic in these deep-tubewells. Comparatively speaking, the drinking situation in Bhagirabad-Jainkathi is adequate. Iron contamination, has however been identified as a problem by the respondents (General FGD, Jainkathi). They collect water for cooking purposes from the canals during high tide, which is often diluted with mud. There might be an inequality of access to the tubewells as more well off respondents use personal ponds or tubewells for cooking water. This could be examined in more detail in further studies.
2.8.
The SSWRDSP approach is based on working with local stakeholders. According to the LGED Community Organiser in Jainkathi, this shaped the formation of Labour Contracting Societies the first three years of the project (1998-2001) to do the earthworks. The LCS workers were paid BDT 120 per day per person, receiving a total of BDT 3600 per month. Bank accounts were opened for every worker by LGED and 40% of their 16
daily wage was deposited in that account as savings. Their working hours where characterised by long weeks and penalties for absence in the form of wage deduction. Only Friday would be a half-day. LGED had published circulars encouraging women, widows and landless labourers from the locality to apply as LCS. The CO revealed that there was political pressure from Ministers, Member of Parliament and the then Union Parishad Chairman to select women with better economic condition rather than the poorest of the poor. We do not care about Chairmans demand. If they do, then they will try to dominate. We used loudspeakers and microphones at the Union Parishad to hire people. We employ women by investigating their condition. Through the LCS work, these women were able to increase their income while the road maintenance was improved. However, there were problems with their wages. During the Rural Employment and Road Maintenance Programme, the concerned LCS were not receiving their wages for three months straight as LGED was not able to obtain the required funds from the government. In the view of Kumud, LCS are not paid according to their daily work, but according to volume of work. This might reflect changes over time. The LCS group interviewed was created in 2006, i.e. 4 years after handover when they re-excavated Chandanbaria canal. During this time 13-14 teams consisting of 300 women from the union (rather than from only inside the subproject) were formed for a period of three months. They were paid by LGED via the WMCA President and Secretary. The KII with the widow in Jainkathi further revealed that during her work as an LCS member, she would earn BDT 200 per day (i.e. BDT 60 more than mentioned by the LGED CO). The LCS FGD however stated that they received BDT 150 per day and BDT 50 was deposited as savings that was returned to them after the project. This is contradicted in the same sentence when saying: We got money according to the volume and nature of work. Those who worked more were paid more. However, according to Shushilan, there has been a shift towards increasingly using male LCS groups rather than women ones. According to the LCS FGD, both men and women received training on re-excavation work from the LGED. They did not feel any safety issues working with men and LGED had also taken care of separate sanitation facilities. Overall, they felt that their livelihoods improved through the increased income generated from this work and that their status in the home had increased. They would have preferred working more like this. Many of them work as sharecroppers on others land (i.e. give some of the produce to the land owner rather than paying for the use of land) and grow betel leaf. Their main problem is lack of water for irrigation, which is caused by the closed Talukdarbari gate. Poor, landless people of our locality have no pond in their houses. Rich people has pond. Aleya Begum mentions that the WMCA received BDT 5 000 for road repairs after 2002. She argues that such work is inclusive and takes into account the opinions of the workers while working, we take decisions collectively. Those who work belong to this locality. They understand how to do road work in a better way. There are contradicting statements of the composition of LCS groups as well as their participation in decision-making and whether or not their livelihoods have improved. It may be the case that poorer women inside the subproject may not reach the numbers required for maintenance work and that people living outside polder are allotted as LCS. Or it may also be the case that more well off people are selected as LCS through political contacts. This will be discussed further in the section on participation.
17
Embankment condition is comparatively good in the western part but the South part of the polder is narrow, low height, and broken (WMCA)
3.1.1. Emergency response The embankment was damaged both during Aila and Sidr due to increased force of tidal water. As the embankment broke, local villagers worked together to immediately repair the embankment and stop it from breaking. For this voluntary labour is used as well as savings from the WMCA until the LGED could come and repair the remaining parts of the polder. Every time we do not wait for LGED. We have to do our job because if road is broken then people will suffer/(WMCA FGD).
19
Siltation was overall perceived as a serious problem affecting water distribution, drainage and supply. The UP member further highlighted how the silted condition of the Kalibari canal would negatively affect paddy and fish cultivation and increase food scarcity. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the Chandanbari khal encircling the subproject is increasingly more silted and narrower over time. According to the KII with the widow in Jainkathi, this silt prevents water accumulating in Kalibari khal during ebb time. In the General FGD, one main recommendation was to re-excavate Chandanbari khal so that water flows into the subproject would be improved. All respondents have seen excavation as necessary across Jainkathi village. In addition, the canal is filled with water hyacinths throughout the dry season. 3.3.2. Leasing In many of G3s research sites, privately held leases of canals have been seen as a contentious issue. In Jainkathi, the smallest of our sites, WMCA members, Union Parishad and general people have clearly stated that there is no leasing practice in the area. However, control over Talukdarbari canal is contentious as it runs across Talukdarbari land and is used as private property. Since this landowning family also has closed the sluice gate that LGED had constructed on their land, they have also been able to close the canal. It is now formally seen as a dead canal and has been so for the past 4-5 years (KII with former WMCA VicePresident).
20
additional sluice gate to facilitate drainage. It would be good if inlet is constructed along with drain at the side of it. People, who own high land beside inlet, can construct embankment (Beri) and construct drain then it would be good. It has also been mentioned by the former Vice-President of the WMCA that another sluice gate will be constructed southeast of Kalibari canal to solve this problem. The Talukdarbari gate is closed and the adjacent canal has become inactive as a result. Though the local people and WMCA informed the Union Parishad and LGED of this, no resolution has materialised. Rather, it seems to have been met by silence. The main issue is that the gate itself has been built on private land, while the landowners see the canal as their private property. The remaining area is suffering from the lack of sufficient structures to regulate excess water and to draw in sufficient water when needed. It was suggested that when a new sluice gate is constructed, the emphasis was on constructing it on government i.e. public, land. In this area, 50 acres of agricultural land had been washed away under tide water, KII with Paddy farmer, Jainkathi. Such a gate would resolve the problems caused by the forceful closing of Talukdarbari gate according to the farmer and WMCA member. According to the WMCA, they have submitted a request for LGED on additional infrastructure; this is discussed in the next section on Maintenance.
22
Sediment removal from khals, re-sectioning/modeling and sodding of embankments, tree planting, repair of failed brick paving every 3-6 years Gate greasing and re-painting, embankment raincut repair and surface re-grading and removing plants from khal.
100% WMCA
Table 11 -
The request for an additional sluice gate would be funded 100% by LGED, and so would Emergency maintenance and brick pavements of the embankment. Minor maintenance such as greasing and re-painting of the gate would be funded 100% by the WMCA, while wilful damage and periodic maintenance such as the much needed canal re-excavation. However, for this the WMCA must bear 50% of the costs. In this subproject, it is thus clearly the LGED and the WMCA who are responsible for maintenance. The Union Parishad is not active. The respondents even mentioned that they did not want to have the Union Parishad involved as that might mean them losing the support of LGED. LGED has done much good work. They sanctioned money twice for embankment (badh). We are in a better position because of them Kumud, WMCA Secretary (and former President). The WMCA sees itself as representing the interests of the people living in the subproject area and the entity responsible for contacting the LGED. A budget is prepared estimating the repair costs for the sluice gate, embankment and re-excavation of canal by the maintenance committee. This is then approved by the WMCA and submitted to LGED Upazila office each year. They in turn submit this proposal to the IWRM unit in Dhaka (the Head Office). The Head Office examines the budget and approves say for example, 5 lakh taka budget of 10 lakh taka. Then we [WMCA] ourselves decide what and how we can do with this money/Former Vice-President, WMCA. According to the WMCA members themselves, the main responsibilities of the cooperative involve maintenance and repairs of damaged embankment/road, sluice gate, and to ensure whether paddy farmers are getting sufficient water for their cultivation. They mentioned how they were active in repairing the embankment during Aila and Sidr, and how they repaired the broken Kalibari gate (which is still damaged by a broken shutter). The committee is conducting the maintenance activities of the embankment, roads inside the polder properly until LGED is conducting any project in this polder/UP Member and WMCA Executive Committee member. The paddy farmer even mentioned that the WMCA repairs the roads and excavated the canals. However, based on the WMCA FGD, this seems to occur only when there is allocated LGED funding for it. In 2007, 5 years after the formal handover, the WMCA excavated the Kalibari canal 23
through local workers. This helped to temporarily resolve drainage congestion and improve agricultural productivity while also giving employment to local workers. However, it was also stated that both the depth and width of the canals have to be increased to improve retention capacity and navigability. Siltation rate is high and the canals are increasingly becoming smaller and non-navigable. Five years before speed boat, trawler, and boat were ran through this river. But now trawler, boat they all get stuck. These can pass if canals are filled with water otherwise not. Water level rises up to the road/Woman WMCA EC member. Another issue is that funding for excavation is allocated during the rainy season starting in the month of Choitro (March-April). Excavating during the rain is a suboptimal situation and it was suggested that any excavation work should start in Magh (January-February). Another problem is that the earth is cut during the low tide and by high tide the excavated earth tends to wash away. However, though the WMCA is to fund half of the periodic maintenance and re-excavate the canal, this is not taking place despite the cooperative existing 10 years after the project ended. In addition, requests have been made to the LGED to pave the embankment with bricks, to make it higher and wider, as well as to repair the broken shutter of the Kalibari sluice gate and create additional inlets. As the previos table above illustrates, these things are to be fully covered by LGED and have not yet been resolved. When the WMCA submits a proposal, only half of the funds requested are allocated. As one respondent put it:
Our regular maintenance work is hampered due to lack of money. Now our road has to be raised by three feet, so that tidal water cannot cause flooding by overflowing the road. We need money to clean water hyacinth, repair damaged gate etc. We need at least one lakh taka to repair the broken gate./Former WMCA president .
The WMCA should be able to remove water hyacinths, but field observations showed that Kalibari khal was filled with them. However, the repainting and greasing of the gates seems to be taking place, the main problem is that the shutter is broken. The handover agreement does not clearly address whether this cost should be borne by LGED or the WMCA, though experiences in BWDB polders indicate that usually the implementing agency takes responsible for this.
24
Though there were several women present in the WMCA FGD, few of them spoke during the session. The participants of the General FGD, both male and female, were all members of the WMCA. Nevertheless, the respondents in Jainkathi indicated a sense of collective cohesion where work is done through consensus. Though the Union Parishad is not formally engaged in the SSWRDSP, there is a continuous linkage between the WMCA and UP by having the UP member involved in the WMCA EC. The current UP member, was previously a WMCA Secretary and is still a part of the Executive Committee. It was also mentioned that prior to LGEDs involvement, the Union Parishad had engaged in canal re-excavation through a rural works program. but the local people preferred LGED to the Union Parishad as the UP was seen as not consulting 25
26
We want a new project for local development and local people would be able to work to develop the polder. Then we could ask for explanation to them if they would not pay monthly instalment regularly. Now rainy season is coming. So, the embankment risks to be damaged in several places. We need huge amount of money; how we will manage such big amount? If LGED allocate money then we will be able to hire female workers to repair the embankment and re-excavation of canal. Then both Samity and female workers will be benefited, if money will come./Woman WMCA EC member
In the General FGD, a farmer (1 acre) and artisan who are both WMCA members, mentioned that local people would repair the embankment with earth if they see that it is breaking. The WMCA may give some funds, but usually Water committee (WMCA) helped us by providing BDT 1 000. UP member on behalf of the committee gave BDT 500. We managed rest of the money. These repairs seem to be patchy. Shushilans field observations note that the height and width of the polder is uneven, some are wider, others are narrower the embankment constructed by LGED is in very bad condition. Though the WMCA is active in micro-credit, it seems that this is not sufficient to address major maintenance concerns. Even minor repairs such as removing of water hyacinths do not seem to be taking place. The loans are used for livelihood improvement and are not directly related to maintenance, though the WMCA members themselves say that they do repair gates and re-excavate canal. However, considering the siltation of the canal and the broken Kalibari gate, this may not still be the case ten years after the project has ended.
inclusion of landless representatives at the onset when they also participated we felt they would value our opinion, but were not able to confirm that such a representative is still part of the WMCA.
29
7. CONCLUSION
7.1. Irrigation scarcity and silted canals
One main concern expressed is the high siltation rate of the canals, both inside and outside the Jainkathi subproject. The canals in our locality are filled up. In the future we will suffer from water scarcity. The canals are a key source of irrigation water, and it was noted that with access to irrigation facilities and agricultural inputs, more Rabi crops can be cultivated. There is enough potential of growing sunflower, water melon, balsam apple etc. commercially. But we are unable to do it due to lack of fresh water. Also, the quality of soil has severely degraded due to excessive use of fertiliser. We can use young plants of pulses as green fertilizer to some extent. The key recommendation to address this problem was to have the WMCA excavated the canals through LGED funds. The earth from the canals could then be used to strengthen and heighten the embankment, while sufficient water for agriculture would be obtained. In addition, periodic excavation was seen as a way of boosting local employment. Poor people of the locality will have employment opportunity continuously for several months. One main problem here is that the LGED built the Talukdari gate on private land and this has made the second internal canal, Talukdarbari canal, inaccessible for the rest of the community. Excavation of this one is not possible as LGED does not have legal rights to the land. As such, any construction by LGED must be made on public land to make it beneficial for the wider community or in the legal holding of LGED. It is also not clear whether or not the Talukdarbari people have taken control of the canal that is flowing across their land, or if it is theirs in the legal sense. Such issues may heavily impede the maintenance and water distribution of these canals.
30
31
issue to the farmers. Department of Fisheries The Department of Fisheries (DoF) is responsible for the dissemination of fisheries resource conservation and aquaculture technology and is situated under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. DoF provides training on fisheries and how to do combined cultivation of paddy and fish. They provide support to fish cultivators in the area and assist them if there are any problems. According to the respondents in BhagirabadJainkathi, the DoF has been active in other areas of the union in terms of training and pond renovation. It has, however, not conducted any activities on fish cultivation in the sub-project. Interagency Coordination The Union Parishad Member interviewed in Jainkathi emphasised the importance of interagency coordination to improve water governance. Agriculture, fisheries, livestock and public health departments are linked with the present water management activities. I think more integration and cooperation is necessary in order to improve the water management sector. It was suggested that when different agencies are preparing proposals in a Union Parishad, the UP should be involved in this process and consult the UP chairman and other elected representatives for a needs assessment. He argued this would allow them to give inputs that allow future activities to be tailored to the demands of the locality.
ii)
NGOs
NGOs: Grameen Bank, BRAC, DANIDA, ASA, Shushilan, Codec, WAVE Foundation, Save the Children, Manab Kallayan Shangstha, Paddakhep, Palli Pragoti Emergency: During Aila and SIDR different NGOs contributed with humanitarian assistance. They provided tin, cows, goats and in some instances helped reconstruct damaged housing. Agriculture: BRAC is the NGO that has worked most on agriculture in the area under a specific project. It has been running the past three years and aims at cultivating sunflower and paddy, where BRAC has provided sunflower seeds. BRAC has also provided investments for Mugh dal (variety of lentil) and sesame. Drinking water: DANIDA provided two deep tube wells in this area. Save the Children works for the development of Sanitation and water. All of these NGOs are working in sanitation and microcredit sector. Micro-credit: Most of the NGOs are engages in microcredit and lending activities. Grameen Bank is the major lender with an office at the end of Bhagirabad village. It is currently running two project that were mentioned, one is the One House One Farm where they provide loans for cow rearing. The other is to provide loans for agricultural activities and pump machines. Water management: DANIDA, WAVE Foundation and other NGOs have conducted road repair and canal excavation activities through hiring earth workers. The general perception is that the quality of their good is very good. The Union Parishad Chairman even stated that he believed that it would be good if NGOs would take more responsibility for water management rather than only providing loans. He suggested that LGED and these NGOs can work together and supervise each other.
33