Despite being in the midst of the monsoon season, Madhes Province continues to face severe drought, leaving farmers in deep distress. With irrigation facilities available on only 49 percent of the province’s total cultivable land, the impact on agriculture is becoming increasingly dire.
The provincial and federal governments have declared Madhes a drought-affected and crisis-hit area, respectively. However, farmers and local officials report that no substantial action has yet been taken to address the crisis.
According to the Madhes Province Dry Zone Study Report—submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to Singha Durbar on July 28—poor management and a lack of maintenance of irrigation infrastructure lie at the heart of the problem. Of more than 1,000 deep tubewells installed since the Panchayat era by both the government and the private sector, over 50 percent are no longer operational.
The Kamala Irrigation Project under the Samruddha Tarai Madhes Irrigation Special Program has also faced major setbacks. In Saptari, Siraha, and Mahottari districts, only 98 out of 236 installed deep tubewells are functional. The remaining 138 are idle due to incomplete infrastructure, such as pump houses and electrification. Additionally, 68 deep tubewells constructed in fiscal year 2024/25 remain nonfunctional because their supporting structures have yet to be built.
Adding to the challenges, 13 deep tubewells in four districts have been rendered unusable due to the theft of key components like transformers and panel board wires. Others are blocked by debris—stones, bricks, and sand—or remain idle due to disputes between local water user committees and farming groups.
Older irrigation systems have also broken down. Under the now-defunct Janakpur Agricultural Development Plan, only 85 of 242 deep tubewells remain functional. Many of the rest—installed between 1984 and 1994—have failed due to issues such as clogged filters, outdated diesel engines, or overall technological obsolescence.
In rural areas, the need for shallow tubewells has become urgent, as surface irrigation systems like canals and dams remain insufficient or unevenly distributed.
Out of Madhes’s total 542,580 hectares of cultivable land, only 52,224 hectares are currently under cultivation this season. Rainfed rice, which relies entirely on monsoon rainfall, has been planted across 362,344 hectares, while Chaite rice covers 20,839 hectares.
Although rivers, canals, and lakes provide some irrigation, the main sources remain underground—primarily shallow and deep tubewells. The Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives has warned that without urgent upgrades and investments, these systems will continue to fail farmers.
Districts like Saptari, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Bara, and Parsa are served by major canals such as the Koshi Chandra, Bagmati, and Gandak. However, large parts of Siraha and Dhanusha remain dependent on increasingly unreliable underground systems.
As the drought worsens and food insecurity looms, farmers are calling for immediate government intervention—repairs, subsidies, and the construction of new infrastructure. Without such action, Madhes could face a severe agricultural collapse in the coming months.
