January 7, 2019
State Govt to provide rainguns for better cultivation, and for free
To control the amount of water being used in fields by farmers in order to prevent wastage, the State Government is distributing a type of sprinkler called raingun sprinkler for free. Only the GST amount of Rs 4,050 has to be paid by the farmers. The cost of these sprinklers is Rs 31,000.
These sprinklers are in the shape of guns, hence the name raingun. These are used in the tea gardens of north Bengal for a long time. Golf courses also employ these systems.
Using these, a lot of water can be saved. The amount of water, drawn using submersible pumps, which can be cultivate 40 to 50 bighas, the same amount of water, by the usage of rainguns, can be used to cultivate 100 bighas.
The reason is that a substantial amount of the water spread on to fields which is drawn by pumps is not really required. This extra water which collects in the fields simply evaporates, and is this thus wasted, or, in worse cases, leads to the birth of harmful organisms like harmful fungi and bacteria.
The overdrawing of water is also lowering the height of the water table to dangerous levels in many places across the State.
Thus rainguns would provide several benefits: more cultivation with less water, hence, lower cost of cultivation; less pressure on the water table, hence, availability of more water during dry seasons.
Source: Ei Samay
