The Ganges-Kobadak (GK) Project yesterday started supplying water for Irri-boro cultivation on around 1.16 lakh hectares of land in Kushtia, Jhenidah, Magura and Chuadanga districts. The project is using 15 pumps to lift water from the river Padma and supply it to the project areas through a channel. As GK project will ensure water supply until November, the farmers of the four south-western districts will be able to cultivate their land for Irri-boro (December-March), Aus (March-June) and Aman (July-November), project officials said. Around 2.75 lakh tonnes of paddy are expected to be produced on 1.16 lakh hectares of land in three crop seasons, the officials added. The authorities had been supplying water only for two seasons -- Kharif-I (March to June) and Kharif-II (mid-July to November) since the beginning of the project in 1961. They started water supply for the new crop season, known as Kharif-3 (December to March), last year. The GK project started with a target to irrigate 4.88 lakh hectares of land in four south-western districts. But it could not cover the targeted area due to unavailability of water. From 1992-1995, the project failed to ensure smooth water supply due to drastic fall in the water level of the Padma. This was happened for withdrawal of Ganges water at Farakka point, said an official of the Water Development Board (WDB) in Kushtia. The project became operational again after a water sharing treaty between Bangladesh and India in 1996. “We are now hopeful of supplying water round the year due to favourable water flow in the river,” said Obaidur Rahman, director of GK Project. Farmers in the four districts are now happy as the project has opened up the opportunity to cultivate crops on their land thrice year.