Assessment of lift irrigation potential in mid hill of Nepal : a case study of rains municipality, Lamjung District | |
| Author | Shrestha, Bibek |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.WM-19-37 |
| Subject(s) | Irrigation--Water requirements--Nepal--Lamjung Irrigation--Nepal--Lamjung |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Water Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | More than 60% of total population of Nepal is engaged in agricultural activities. As it contributes more than 32% of GDP of the country and accounts for 50% of national exports. However, only 55% of the total cultivable land is irrigated by conventional methods of irrigation. Of the total agricultural land 76% lies in Terai and 21% lies in hills of river valleys and uplands terraces. Irrigation Department under Nepal Government has largely focused irrigation Development in Terai region but of few project are launched in the Hilly areas. So, potentiality exist in the hills for irrigation improvement and development. As the topographical features are uneven in different parts of the country, the surface irrigation is not possible throughout the country. River valley lift irrigation can be a good option to irrigate the cultivable land in hill. It relies on the techniques of anti-gravity flow using a certain source of energy. The unavailability of proper irrigation facility has lead farmer to migrate from these region to Terai which resulted in overcrowding and unemployment. The use of lift scheme to deliver water in the uplands of hills will enable the farmers to experience the innovative methods of irrigation which helps to boost agricultural productivity as well as it makes them conscious about the limited use of water. Such system helps optimal cropping pattern using different micro irrigation techniques like drip, sprinkler. Such technology helps cultivation of cash crops and vegetable which are financially profitable for farmers. It reduces migration rate as farmer gets enough job opportunities if the project is successfully implemented. Rainastar Irrigation System is a canal based gravity flow system which is located in Lamjung district, Rainas municipality. Presently, RIS cannot irrigate overall command area due to lots of problems. Since, it lies in upland of two rivers Chepe River and Marshyandi River. There is an option to irrigate the field which are deprived from RIS facility. Lift irrigation is one of the technique to irrigate the field above the water source. The objective of the research was to identify the area which is viable through lift irrigation technique and design the system which is economically feasible. The water requirement was estimated on the basis of improved cropping pattern of the study area. Also, the design parameters were estimated using the calculated water demand. For the estimation of water demand of improved cropping pattern CropWat software was used. The highest water requirement was estimated on the month of July as 3.7 mm per day. Accordingly, the design discharge was calculated on the basis of highest water requirement including irrigation efficiency as 0.86 liter per second. Two areas were delineated for lift irrigation schemes, the components of irrigation system were designed individually. Hybrid system was selected as an energy source to supply electricity to the pump house. AquaCrop model was used to estimate the predicted yield after the fulfillment of the water demand according to the schedule. |
| Year | 2019 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Water Engineering and Management (WM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shrestha, Sangam; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Sundaram, S. Mohana;Asadi, Mohammad Esmaeil; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | AIT Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2019 |