RANTAU PANJANG: The Kelantan Drainage and Irrigation Department has been releasing water from the Bukit Kwong dam here to irrigate drought-affected farmland.
Its director Kamal Mustapha said the water level had dropped by nearly two metres since they started releasing water in January.
“The reading in January was 16m. “The department decided to release the water to help farmers in the state who are facing difficulties to obtain water supply after Sungai Golok dried up,” he said.
Kamal said, as of 2pm today, the water level was 14.81m. The normal level is 16.67m.
“The situation is still under control despite the dry spell as the dead storage capacity or critical level for Bukit Kwong dam is 12.20m,” he said.
Meanwhile, several farmers here thanked the department for resolving their problem.
“We faced difficulties when the water level in Sungai Golok dropped last week,” said Razali Abdul Raof, 61.
“We depend on the river to irrigate our farms, but since early this week, we had to stop planting new vegetables temporarily.”
Razali who grows cucumber, chilli and eggplant in Kampung Tok Deh, said he and other farmers would repair their fences while waiting for the water level in the river to rise again.