A Brief History of Large Scale, Tubewell Irrigation in West Bengal

Utilization of underground water for irrigating crops by drilling tubewells had been in practice in very small isolated areas for about the last 25-30 years. But a systematic study of this utilization was not thought of till the country launched its first ‘Grow More Food Campaign’ by about 1942-43. But then a few years of favourable rainfall with consequent high farm output acted as a brake on the zeal and enthusiasm in this direction. Nature, however, declined to remain friendly for all years to come and deficient rainfall leading to drought conditions continued to prevail, and the country was facing heavy food deficit to feed an enormously rising population with heavy decline in farm output.