BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 4th January 2026: Farmers in the Bottoli area of Sonamura are facing severe difficulties as irrigation water has been unavailable for over a year. The affected farmers, numbering between 50 to 60 in the Borodual Char region near the Bottoli Fluis Gate, claim they have had to rely on renting pump machines at their own expense to cultivate 200 to 250 kani of land. Despite their efforts, crops like paddy and vegetables are being destroyed in the fields due to lack of water.
According to local farmers, the problem arose after road widening work on the main road of Sonamura, which led to the construction of a new fluis gate beside the old one. As a result, the local irrigation pump house had to be relocated to land owned by Mannan Mia.
At that time, local authorities, including Nalsar Panchayat Samiti Chairperson Swapan Kumar Das, assured Mannan that his son would be given the pump operator job. However, the current pump operator, Atikul Islam, has had his tenure extended by another year, and Mannan has refused to allow the pump machine to operate from his land until his son is appointed. Despite repeated complaints to local leaders and the Panchayat Samiti Chairperson over nearly a year, farmers say no solution has been offered. The prolonged water shortage has made life extremely difficult for the 50–60 farming families dependent on this irrigation system.
