Hailstorm destroys paddy on 2,000 bighas of farmland in Bogura

A hailstorm on Wednesday destroyed paddy crops on at least 2,000 bighas farmland in Bogura.

The storm, which hit the croplands in the Koidala village under Nandigram upazila around 1:30pm, devastated paddy crops of nearly a hundred farmers.

The farmers had suffered losses during the Amon season and hoped to make some profit during the Aush season, as the yield was good this year.

But the hailstorm, which lasted for only about half an hour, caused damage worth Taka several lakhs to the paddy growers.

Mizanur Rahman of Koidala village planted paddy on 75 bighas of land this season. He had started harvesting the crop. However, the natural disaster struck after Mizanur was only able to harvest crops on five bighas of land.

Mosharraf Hossain of the same village suffered the same fate. He was planning to harvest the entire paddy crops within the next two-three days, but the hailstorm destroyed the yield.

Speaking to The Business Standard, Mosharraf Hossain said, "I was hoping to harvest around 25-28 maunds of paddy per bigha of land this season. I spent around Tk10,000 per bigha, but now I have lost everything.

"If the government does not pay us compensation, we will starve."

Another farmer, Moazzem Hossain said, "We are not getting enough labourers to harvest paddy because of the coronavirus shutdown. Those who are willing to work are asking for more money.

"I hired labourers to harvest paddy at Tk4,000 per bigha. But my crops have been destroyed by the hailstorm."

Responding to queries, Nandigram upazila Agriculture Officer Md Adnan Babu said, "After learning about the hailstorm, I visited several areas. Paddy crops in the Koidala village have been damaged the most due to the storm.

"I will inform senior officials concerned about the matter. Then I will make a list of farmers who have suffered losses, and arrange for them to get compensated."