Flood damages Tk 500 crore crops in three northern districts

Nurul Islam Sarker cultivated jute and aush paddy on some 1.5 hectares of land. He was expecting minimum Tk 1.5 lakh sale of those. However, the Bogura’s Sariakandi upazila farmer only got Tk 14,000 selling his jute as flood inundated everything long before the harvest begins.              

The story of Sarker is not unique as most farmers of the northern districts — including Bogura which is also known as the capital of the North Bengal — have been hit hard by the monsoon of this year.  

More than 3,510 marginal farmers have been hurt due to the disaster at Sariakandi’s Chaluabari union alone, said union parishad chairman Shawkat Ali while elaborating the big picture.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Sirajganj, Pabna and Bagura are the worst victims of the flood with an estimated loss of Tk 456 crore.  

Moreover, nearly 36,000 hectares of farmland is still under water and the total loss would be estimated after the floodwater recedes. The entire figure would not remain under Tk 500 crore, DAE officials said adding the deluge totally devastated vegetables and Aman seedlings.            

A total of 20,671 hectares of farmland in Bogura went under flood water with an estimated damage of Tk 315 crore. Sirajganj stands the second in aspect of devastation where the loss is more than Tk 125 crore. In Pabna, flood swamps 7 hectares of land damaging crops of Tk 4 crore.            

Additional Director of DAE Bogura Mohammad Arshed Ali shared the plan of his office to minimize the damages. The department has begun preparing a 52 acres of floating seedbeds and it would distribute seeds free of cost among flood victims as soon as water recedes.    

“We have taken up several rehabilitation programmes for the farmers and will do the best to cope up the loss,” he added.