Chomansin Rayamajhi of Kachal Phat, Tinau Rural Municipality-1, is from Rainadevi Chhahara-4, Chhahara. But he has been living in Kachal Phat for three decades. He moved to the valley after the yield was low in the lake and it was difficult to work. ‘When we migrated, there was a lot of problem with irrigation canals in the Phat,’ he said, ‘but since it is a fertile field, the yield is good.’ Till three years ago, he used to cultivate two crops at most. Now, three crops have started being cultivated. 

The Kachal Phat irrigation project, which had been neglected for 39 years, was completed three years ago. Since then, there has been no problem with water. ‘Now, not only me, but everyone here has started cultivating three crops,’ he said, ‘but we are dependent on the traditional farming system. We have not been informed about the farming system by any government body.’

Four-five years ago, farmers of Kachal Phat used to cultivate rice or millet when it rained in their fields on time. Now, they plant rice in the rainy season. In addition to vegetable cultivation, mustard, lentils, wheat, and corn have also been started. 'After cultivating pulses and oilseeds, I have gained a lot of benefits from this,' said local Sita Bagale, 'I grow vegetables commercially. But I cannot sell them in the village. It is also difficult to get a price because of the distance to Butwal due to the road.' After the construction of irrigation canals in the fields, the living standards of not only Rayamajhi and Bagale, but also 90 percent of the farmers have changed. 

Nearly 300 households here have said that they have started growing other crops in their fields besides rice and corn. This has increased the busyness of the farmers in the fields and their financial situation has also started to change. 'Irrigation facilities have been provided so that the fields are lush for 12 months now,' said farmer Bagale, 'In addition to vegetables, crops such as rice, maize, mustard, wheat, lentils, and vegetables have also benefited. This has also changed the living standards of farmers living in remote areas like us. It was difficult for farmers here to make ends meet earlier. Those who migrated from the lakes to the valleys used to migrate to Madhesh. But now that is not the case. Now, only 6 families have left in the past one and a half years. But 26 families have come. 

Most of the houses have rice stored from two years ago. With sufficient water, vegetable farming, animal husbandry, and cashew farming have also started generating income. But he complains that no body has seen the suffering of the farmers. The Agricultural Knowledge Center, National Agricultural Modernization Project, Project Implementation Unit, and local levels have not taken any plans in Kachal for the three years since the irrigation canal was built. Locals complain that the offices in the district have not been able to reach Kachal. 

‘No agency has come to Kachal Phat regarding pocket areas and commercial farming,’ said local Shanta Khadka, ‘Maybe because government agencies only conduct programs around their offices, they have not reached remote areas.’ Even though irrigation facilities have been provided in Kachal Phat, they have not been able to grow vegetables commercially. There is no program to generate cash income for households. Krishna Bahadur Chhahari Magar of Kachal Phat is 84 years old. He said that when he was young, he had contributed to the plan to bring an irrigation canal to Kachal Phat. He still remembers carrying goods from four hours away to build an irrigation canal. But he said that he did not realize that three and a half decades had passed since the work on the irrigation canal was completed. 

‘Now I am old, but water is flowing only in the canal of the plan,’ he said, ‘Planning and commercializing vegetable farming have not been possible here. I think attention should be paid to this. We should still pay attention to the expansion of the branch canal.’

In 2040, when the then King Birendra was on a visit, the locals had demanded an irrigation canal in the Kachal field. As per the same demand, work started in the Kachal field from 2043/44 by the order of the then king. At that time, work was done from the budget of 30 million for the plan until 2047/48. The plan could not be completed. The work that should have started from the source was done in the field in the lower area. Then, former MP Hari Prasad Nepal said that there was no budget for the plan. After that, the work was not completed at that time, and it was abandoned. He says that the construction business started work from the field area because of the steep cliffs towards the source, and the district office did not proceed with the work due to corruption.

That is why the water of the Dobhan (Kachal) river could not reach the field here. The plan remained abandoned. He claimed that the former MP Nepal himself took the initiative to complete it after 2070. This is the Kachal field irrigation sub-project. Its source is in the Dobhan (Kachal) river. The distance from the source to Kachal Phat is 7 kilometers along the main canal. The Water Resources and Irrigation Development Division Office, Palpa, has stated that the plan was designed to irrigate 6,000 ropanis (300 hectares) of land here. The plan, which was stalled for a long time, resumed work in 2062/63. Every year, there was a situation where little budget was allocated, but no progress was seen in the work. 

In 2073/74, a contract for the work was awarded with a budget of 139.5 million. After the work started in three packages, a contract agreement was signed between the division and Natural Construction Services Pvt. Ltd. in the first package. In the second, the work was to purchase pipes, while in the third, the work was to be done through the consumer committee and the work was carried out by paying the consumer committee. Even now, water is being brought through three large pipes for 1,100 meters, as the steep cliff could not be broken.