Downstream farmers fear damage to Boro crops
Farmers in downstream areas are now in fear of rushing water from upstream damaging Boro crops on 11,220 hectares of land in Lakhai upazila of Habiganj district. Some haor croplands are already inundated.
Of the total Boro croplands, 65 hectares in Lakhai upazila are already underwater.
Habiganj Department of Agriculture Extension sources said rice harvesting in haor areas has started since 4 April but crops on most of the land cannot be reaped, being still unripe.
Crops on 8,260 hectares of haor land and 856 hectares of non-haor land have been harvested till 18 April, DAE Habiganj sources said.
In Habiganj, Boro crop has been cultivated on 1,22,370 hectares of land, 70 hectares more than the target.
Of this land, 33,785 hectares are in Baniachang upazila, 14,990 hectares in Ajmiriganj upazila, 12,400 hectares in Sadar upazila, 11,500 hectares in Madhabpur upazila, 11,000 hectares in Chunarughat upazila, 8,630 hectares in Bahubal upazila, 18,845 hectares in Nabiganj upazila, and 11,220 hectares in Lakhai upazila. The department concerned has set a target of 5,22,109 tons of Boro production on these lands.
Lakhai upazila agriculture officer Shakil Khandaker told The Business Standard (TBS) that water levels have been rising in the Dhaleswari and Sutang rivers for the last two days, inundating crops on 65 hectares of land in Lakhai Sadar, Shibpur of Bamoi union, and the Swajangram Noagaon area.
He expressed concern about the huge damage to Boro crops in haor areas if the water level keeps rising.
In this upazila, Boro has been cultivated on 11,220 hectares of land, of which, crops on only 1650 hectares have been harvested till Monday.
Mobarak Miah, a farmer in Shibpur, said he has been harvesting half green paddy as water has started entering the haor. There is also a shortage of labourers to harvest crops.
Another farmer in the same village, Abu Taher, said crops on 15 of the 16 kani of land he has, have drowned. But he is not getting any labourers even at a wage rate of Tk1,000.
Water Development Board Executive Engineer Shahnewaz Talukder says there is a possibility of flooding in Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, and Netrakona, except for Habiganj. In Lakhai upazila, crops which are cultivated outside the embankment are underwater.
This year, 31 submerged dams have been constructed to protect the crops in haor areas at a cost of Tk4 crore, he added.
Baniachang upazila Nirbahi Officer Padma Sen Sinha and Ajmiriganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sultana Saleha said there is still no information of entering flood water in haor areas till Monday.
District DAE Engineer Moazzem Hossain said that the Boro production is very much buoyant in the district as no big natural disaster has taken place so far. Besides, the agro machinery sold among farmers at a subsidised rate, seeds and fertiliser, were very supportive for the farmers to grow Boro crops.
