Prospects for rainwater harvesting

According to a news report agriculture scientists and researchers observed at a seminar held in Rajshahi that substantial boosting of rainwater harvesting can be the vital means of sustainable agriculture in the vast High Barind Tract (HBT). Referring to the constraints of HBT, they are of the opinion that rainwater harvesting for its crop production could be a sustainable solution. Use of rainwater is also important for saving farmers’ money as well as increase production.

For centuries this delta has been facing severe floods and droughts due to a lack of planning during the monsoon for the last many years. The lack of groundwater recharge may lead to the dire consequences of desertification. Groundwater recharge can be done by various techniques such as rainwater harvesting at household level in urban areas, developing ponds in our parks and farms, plugging our flood drains and even diverting our river flows to facilitate artificial groundwater recharge.  The most important concern is about water waste.  

The situation is further worsened as increasingly contaminated and brackish water is also left unattended, leading to groundwater pollution. As a nation we have to come up with solutions to overcome water scarcity. The solution lies in adopting international best practices. Our scientists and researchers have successfully customised and developed successful models, which, if adopted, can result in a paradigm shift in our efforts to improve the livelihood of the people.

There is a dire need to formulate a comprehensive national policy on water as the country is going to face an acute water shortage in the near future. An increasing population makes it imperative to save each drop of precipitation. Collective efforts for rainwater harvesting, even in irrigated areas by individual farmers at their farms, can bring a revolution in livelihood in this country, along with a solution to the groundwater recharge for future use. No doubt the biggest source of storing rainwater is by constructing big dams which are imperative on a long term basis to address our current and future energy and water needs.

The awareness and importance of harvesting rainwater should be emphasised down to the school level. Citizens should be told to build underground water tanks to harvest rain water to be used in times of need. Meanwhile, immediate measures should be taken to build reservoirs to store water.

 

Prospects for rainwater harvesting

According to a news report agriculture scientists and researchers observed at a seminar held in Rajshahi that substantial boosting of rainwater harvesting can be the vital means of sustainable agriculture in the vast High Barind Tract (HBT). Referring to the constraints of HBT, they are of the opinion that rainwater harvesting for its crop production could be a sustainable solution. Use of rainwater is also important for saving farmers money as well as increase production. For centuries this delta has been facing severe floods and droughts due to a lack of planning during the monsoon for the last many years. The lack of groundwater recharge may lead to the dire consequences of desertification. Groundwater recharge can be done by various techniques such as rainwater harvesting at household level in urban areas, developing ponds in our parks and farms, plugging our flood drains and even diverting our river flows to facilitate artificial groundwater recharge. The most important concern is about water waste. The situation is further worsened as increasingly contaminated and brackish water is also left unattended, leading to groundwater pollution. As a nation we have to come up with solutions to overcome water scarcity. The solution lies in adopting international best practices. Our scientists and researchers have successfully customised and developed successful models, which, if adopted, can result in a paradigm shift in our efforts to improve the livelihood of the people. There is a dire need to formulate a comprehensive national policy on water as the country is going to face an acute water shortage in the near future. An increasing population makes it imperative to save each drop of precipitation. Collective efforts for rainwater harvesting, even in irrigated areas by individual farmers at their farms, can bring a revolution in livelihood in this country, along with a solution to the groundwater recharge for future use. No doubt the biggest source of storing rainwater is by constructing big dams which are imperative on a long term basis to address our current and future energy and water needs. The awareness and importance of harvesting rainwater should be emphasised down to the school level. Citizens should be told to build underground water tanks to harvest rain water to be used in times of need. Meanwhile, immediate measures should be taken to build reservoirs to store water.