Ducks dying, triple blow in haor
After devastating vast croplands and death of the fishes in Hakaluki haor, the flash flood caused by last month’s incessant rain has now taken the lives of hundreds of ducks.
Duck farming is a major source of livelihood for the locals around Hakaluki haor in Sylhet’s Fenchuganj.
READ MORE: Paddy gone, now fish
Kalimuddin from Maizbagh area, a duck farmer for 10 years, said he never saw anything like this in his life. “Dead ducks are floating in the water everywhere. I lost all of my 150 ducks.”
Another farmer Abdul Quayum of Ghilachhara lost all of his 250 ducks. “It seems like a plague. I used to sell duck eggs and earn my bread. Now, I have nothing to do with no source of earning.”
Anwar Mia from Ferighat, who just managed to get into a life after two years of duck farming, has been reduced to where he was two years ago after all of his 300 ducks died.
READ MORE: No Pahela Baishakh in Haor
Experts say it is a plague caused by the rotting half-ripe paddy and dead fish. They fear these animals could cause harm to human beings if the dead fishes and birds are consumed.
Dr Mamunur Rashid, deputy director of Agriculture Extension Department in Sylhet, said: “The toxicity of the water has risen due to the rotting half-ripe paddies. It caused the death of fowls.”
Dr Nasrin Sultana, veterinary and animal science department head at Sylhet Agriculture University, said the “dark plague” can be caused by rotting paddy and dead fishes.
“If consumed, the fishes or birds, it may cause harm to human beings – especially the old and children,” she said.
EDITORIAL: Plight of haor people
Fisheries department head at the university Dr Md Shahabuddin said the water has been dangerously tampered with the ammonia released by the rotten fish.
“It is essential to monitor that nobody is allowed to eat the fishes or birds in any form,” he said.
WATER TREATED WITH LIMESTONE
Authorities have moved swiftly into treating the water at the haor.
Large chunks of limestone have been added to the water and loudspeakers were announcing people to stay away from catching the dead fishes, said Mosharraf Hossain, deputy director for divisional fisheries.
So far, 5,300 kilogrammes of limestone have been added to the water to redeem the toxicity level, Sultan Mahmud, senior fisheries officer at Kulaura upazila, said today.
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