MAHOTTARI, Sept 30: Farmers in different parts of Mahottari are facing irrigation problems following repeated thefts of electricity transformers and water pumps installed for agricultural use.
Farmers say their concerns have grown as thefts continue while those responsible remain unidentified and unpunished.
Most recently, transformers installed at Tarahari and Maintol in Sonama Rural Municipality-2 and near a pond between Tarahari and Magarthana in Sonama-6 were stolen even before they could be brought into operation. Electricity lines were being connected to the transformers in preparation for their use.
The Madhesh provincial government had installed the transformers to expand irrigation facilities for farmers.
Multiple cases of wire thefts found at Federal Parliament const...
“It rained continuously for three or four days, so nobody paid much attention to the area. Farmers discovered the transformers were missing when they returned to their fields after the rain stopped,” said Madan Sah, a social worker from Sonama-2. He said the theft likely occurred between Saturday and Monday.
The incident has come at a difficult time for paddy farmers, as crops approaching maturity require irrigation every two or three days.
“It will now be difficult to irrigate the paddy,” said Ramprit Thakur of Sonama. “We will have to depend on rainfall again.”
Farmers approached the District Administration Office on Tuesday, demanding that authorities identify and prosecute those involved. They also called for immediate replacement of the stolen transformers to restore irrigation.
The administration has assured farmers that police will investigate the thefts and has instructed the Mahottari District Police Office to take prompt action.
The latest incidents are part of a wider problem in the district. Motors installed at wells and boreholes for irrigation have also frequently been stolen.
Official figures show that 28 transformers and several irrigation motors were stolen in Mahottari during fiscal year 2025/26.
Ram Ishwar Thakur, a 30-year-old farmer from Bhangaha-4, said 10 motors installed at wells and boreholes in his settlement alone were stolen last year.
Farmers say repeated thefts and the failure to arrest those responsible have emboldened thieves, while leaving cultivators to bear the cost and struggle with unreliable irrigation.
