This may affect crops on about 1, 50,000 hectares, according to officials of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Palli Biddyut Samity ( PBS).

PBS officials said they have decided to supply power to only 3,284 irrigation pumps including 1,750 deep and 1,534 shallow tube wells out of a total of 62,256 deep, shallow and low lift pump (LLP) in the three districts.

BPDB and PBS officials told this correspondent that they need about 176 megawatt (mw) power for the three districts to keep irrigation machines running smoothly but now they being supplied with only an average of 49 mw a day.

DAZ Shamsuddin, General Manager of Joypurhat PBS said on Thursday that they will connect electricity to only 80 irrigation equipment including 30 deep and 50 shallow tube wells out of a total 2,957 in the district.

PBS Officials in Bogra said they need about 140 mw power for 59,300 irrigation machines in Bogra and Naongoan districts. But authorities supply 44 mw per day on an average.

A senior PBS official said power has been provided to only 1400 deep and 184 shallow tube wells out a total of 51,200 irrigation machines in Naongoan district in the current IRRI-Boro season.

On the other hand PBS have given power connection to only 1,620 irrigation machines including 320 deep and 1,300 shallow out of a total of 8,100 in Bogra district.

The officials said the only alternative for farmers is to convert their machines to diesel-run ones, which is costly.

Farmer Sheik Nuruzzman Nilu of Karimpur village in Kalai upazila in Joypurhat said about 100 hectares of IRRI-Boro land may remain fallow in his village. If he does not get power connection, he will have to convert his machine into a diesel run equipment, which will cost him additional money.