**1. Introduction**

The Barind Tract includes parts of the greater Rajshahi, Pabna, and Bogura districts of the Rajshahi Division, as well as parts of the greater Rangpur and Dinajpur districts of the Rangpur division in Bangladesh, as well as parts of the Uttar Dinajpur, Dakhin Dinajpur, and most of Maldah District in West Bengal, India. The Barind Tract in Bangladesh's northwest is the country's largest Pleistocene terrace, made up of Pleistocene alluvial deposits, often known as older alluvium, covered by reddish-brown, sticky Pleistocene silt; Madhupur Clay, with an elevation above sea level ranging from 14 to 45 m [1–6]. The area is geomorphologically separated into three geological units: (a) Barind clay residuum, which overlies and formed on Pleistocene alluvium; (b) Holocene ganges flood-plain alluvium; and (c) Ganges active channel deposits and main distributaries (modern alluvium).The floodplain and the Barind Tract are both physiographically included in the area, which is tectonically part of the Bengal basin's stable shelf region. Level Barind, high Barind, and north eastern Barind are the three primary portions of the Tract [6, 7]. The area's central section is relatively high and irregular. About 80% of the land in high Barind is terraced or undulated. The Tract is located between the latitudes of 24°20'N and 25°35'N, and the longitudes of 88°20'E and 89°30'E. In comparison to other areas of Bangladesh, the Barind Tract's hard red soil and typical dry environment with comparatively high temperatures and low rainfall are crucially significant [8]. The temperature ranges from 8 to 44 degrees Celsius throughout the area [2]. Although the national average for annual rainfall is 2500 mm, the Tract receives lower rainfall ranging from 1250 to 2000 mm, with about 80% of it falling between June and October [9, 10]. The Barind Tract is the most drought-prone and water-scarce region of Bangladesh, with very limited sources of surface water [11, 12]. The area is experiencing groundwater drought, a type of hydrological drought, as well as agricultural drought caused by weather events. In the years 1972, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2009, and 2010, it endured moderate to severe agricultural droughts with hydrological droughts [13]. Because the land is almost flood-free, rainwater is the only means of recharging groundwater [9, 14]. However, rainwater percolation to the aquifer is restricted by more than 15 m thick top clay (Barind clay) layers [15–17] and limited infiltration capacity (2–3 mm/day) [18] reduces natural groundwater recharging [19]. Before 1986, the typical landscape of this region was sun-burned hot-tempered high and low ground with cactus, babla (acacia), herb, and palm trees scattered about [7] and surface water supplies were scarce, and most ponds, canals, rivers, and other natural water bodies dried up during the dry season, leaving crop production entirely dependent on rainfall. Here, only rain-fed T. Amon (Transplanted Amon) (local name of paddy) crops were grown whose cultivation was impeded by a lack of timely rainfall, and field crops were frequently damaged. After T. Amon was harvested, the land remained uncultivated for the remainder of the year due to a lack of water and was used as cattle pasture and people did not have any work with their hands at the time. So, they had to migrate to other parts of the country in search of work. There was an acute shortage of drinking water. For drinking and domestic usage, women used to collect water from open water bodies where cattle were also washed. As a result, many people had to suffer from various water-borne diseases, such as cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery [8, 10, 17]. When the ponds dried up during the dry season, they experienced a major setback in obtaining water to drink. People in the area are familiar with the motto "Barind is a land where life is written in water" [3]. As a result, life was extremely hard, and the area was woefully underdeveloped. In response to the people's and area's vulnerable situation, the Government of Bangladesh approved the "Barind Integrated Area Development Project (BIADP-I)" under the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation
