Embankment breaches in Sunamganj, new areas inundated
New areas in Jamalganj upazila of Sunamganj inundated after cracks appeared at different points on the embankment of Paknar Haor last night.
All measures taken by locals to save the embankment along the Paknar Haor failed due to excessive rain and onrush of upstream hill water, our local correspondent reports quoting Nurul Huda, chairman of Sunamganj District Council.
About 8,000 hectares of fresh cropland have so far gone under the water, said Prashun Kumar Chakrabarti, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Jamalganj.
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“The effort of thousands of people to save the embankment was praiseworthy, but we lost it last night, said the UNO.
After cracks appeared on the embankment at Oraorkandi point around 5:00am, the water washed away huge amount of Boro paddy, Prashun Kumar said.
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Paknar Haor was the lone haor which remained safe after onrush of water damaged Shanir Haor in Tahirpur upazila of the district yesterday.
The gushing water entered through the cracks and inundated many villages.
An unusually early flashflood struck late March in the entire haor region of Bangladesh's northeast and damaged Boro crops in 1.8 lakh hectares of land in Sunamganj, Netrakona, Moulvibazar and some other adjoining districts.
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Conservative estimates put the loss of rice at half a million tonnes.
According to statistics disclosed by the government yesterday, around 1,276 tonnes of fish and 3,844 ducks died in the haors where the level of dissolved oxygen dropped.
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