Flash floods threaten Boro crops in Sunamganj haors

Boro crops in the Sunamganj haor namely Gurmar are at risk as water has started entering the haor since Sunday morning overflowing the embankment as the water level has risen in different rivers due to heavy rainfall in the upstream.

Furthermore, the other two haors – Shanir Haor and Matian haors – are also vulnerable due to the rise in water level. 

The weather forecasts heavy rainfall to continue in the Meghalaya state of India, the upstream of Sunamganj which may cause flash floods in Sylhet and Sunamganj.  

Local farmer Kaiser Ahmed told TBS that there was huge pressure of water in the rivers on Saturday night. Although it could be controlled at night, water started entering the haor on Sunday morning.

Tahirpur upazila Chairman Karuna Sindhu said that they have been fighting to save the crop of the haors for the last 15 days. They are now trying to repair the vulnerable Bagmara dam where no crack has appeared yet. But water is entering overflowing the dam due to the water level rise in the rivers.

Sunamganj Water Development Board Engineer Md Shamsuddoha said that the water level of various bordering rivers including Surma has started rising due to the excessive rainfall and water flow from the upstream making all the dams in the haor areas vulnerable. It is feared that the crops in most of the haors of the district may sink if the water level crosses the danger point.

Sunamganj Department of Agriculture Deputy Director Bimol Chandra Som said the Boro crop has been cultivated on 2,22,508 hectares of land in Sunamganj. Of the total land, the crop of only 22,230 hectares has been harvested so far. 

"There are crops on more than two lakh hectares of land. We are encouraging the harvesting of the crops early. As many as 392 combined harvester and reaper machines have been engaged to harvest the haor crops," he said.