Flood causes huge damage to crops
Floodwaters continued to recede yesterday in the country's north and northeast, leaving trails of massive damages to crops, houses, roads and dykes.
Many flood victims were still living on embankments or government shelter centres while some started returning to damaged homes.
Visiting Jamalpur in the last three days, photojournalist Amran Hossain of The Daily Star saw huge low-lying areas with aman seedlings, fish and vegetables affected by flooding.
“After harvesting, farmers immerse jute plants in water bodies for rotting, but a good portion of the crop has been washed away by floodwaters,” he said.
Some 25 families took shelter at Jarultala Govt Primary School flood shelter centre in Islampur union on July 25.
They alleged the government did not supply any relief aid to them. On July 31, some locals gave them some rotis only.
Having lost crops and fish, farmers were worried about the coming months.
Osimuddin Miah, a farmer in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, lost aman paddy on 1.66 acres of land to flooding.
“I borrowed Tk 20,000 from an NGO for cultivating aman, but the floods have ruined everything,” he said yesterday after returning home along with his five-member family from an embankment.
The 62-year-old had no idea about how he would repay the loan, go for growing another crop and repair the house, reports our Lalmonirhat correspondent.
Mofazzal Hossain, 56, a farmer at Shiberkuti village, could not buy aman seedlings as the prices were high.
“If the govt doesn't provide necessary support, we won't be able to grow aman paddy,” he said, adding that it would ultimately have an adverse impact on their livelihood.
Fish farmer Mohammad Ali in Melandah upazila of Jamalpur said he spent Tk 10 lakh for farming in two ponds, but the total investment is lost due to flooding.
As of yesterday, crops on 1.07 lakh hectares in 23 districts have been inundated by floodwaters, according to Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
The DAE would make a complete assessment of the damages after the flood is over. Based on the assessment, the government would decide on how to help the affected farmers, DAE Director General Md Hamidur Rahman told The Daily Star.
The government would ensure availability of paddy seedlings and vegetable seeds so that farmers can resume cultivation after the subsidence of floodwaters, he added.
According to the Department of Disaster Management, at least 6,34,409 families in the country's 16 districts, mostly in the north and northeast, have been hit by flooding since mid-July. The deluge killed 21 people and fully damaged some 8,140 houses.
Some 2,000 km of roads and 58.09 km of embankments in Jamalpur; seven km of roads in Nilphamari; 327 km of roads in Sirajganj and 300 metres of dykes in Gaibandha were damaged fully or partially.
Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya yesterday said the government would take a 40-day programme to rebuild the damaged houses in low-lying areas.
“Immediately after the receding of floodwaters, the government would start rebuilding the damaged homes,” he said while distributing relief materials among the victims in Phulbari of Gaibandha.
Two hundred more flood shelter centres will be built to protect people from flooding, Maya added.
Meanwhile, water levels in the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhya around the capital are rising and the trend might continue in next 24 hours, according to Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC).
“There is no possibility of flooding in northern and western areas of Dhaka. But the low-lying areas in the east might see flooding,” said Ripon Karmaker, assistant engineer of FFWC.
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