Flood taking toll on livestock
Mobarak Ali, around 70-years-old, had been taking good care of his seven cattle for months with the hopes to make a handsome profit after selling them ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
But his hopes had been washed away by the recent flood which has destroyed several piles of straws which he used as fodder for cattle.
“On top of that, two of my cows died after being infected with waterborne diseases during the flood,” said Mobarak, a resident of Uttor Kharibari village in Nilphamari’s Dimla upazila.
“Not only am I in fear that the rest of my five cows could be infected too, I don’t even have fodder to help them survive in the upcoming days,” he said.
Amid such a situation, Mobarak brought the five cows at Sutibari cattle market yesterday and was seen making a hectic effort to sell them at low costs.
Many flood-hit cattle farmers, like Mobarak, are going through a tough time due to the scarcity of fodder, accommodation and treatment for cattle.
“I have two oxen. Now, I have to sell each of them at Tk 80,000. But I could have sold each of them at Tk 1.20 lakhs ahead of Eid,” said Abed Ali, 65, a farmer from Dimla upazila’s Kisamoter char area.
A local cattle trader Mahabul Islam said, “Usually, cattle farmers bring cattle around four to five days ahead of Eid. But this year, the have already started bringing them to the market.”
“When the flood came around two weeks ago, we, along our cattle, took shelter at a dyke. After returning home, we found that all of our straws [for fodder] have been damaged,” said Syed Ali, 80, a farmer from Kurigram Sadar upazila’s Sardarpara village.
Meanwhile, some flood-victims received fodder relief for cattle, but the relief were not distributed from government bodies.
Rather a private organisation, People for Animal Welfare (PAW) Foundation, distributed it.
Around one hundred farmers of Chilmari upazila received fodder for around 455 cattle. Fodder include dry paddy straw and roughage, said Rakibul Islam Amil, chairman of PAW.
“I have received 10kg of roughage for my cattle. One of my cattle was suffering from allergies. My cattle also got treatment from them,” said farmer Mijanur Rahman, 25, from Chilmari upazila’s Panatipara village in Kurigram.
Flood water has receded in most of the affected areas. But many people could not return home as their residences were still waterlogged or had been washed away.
“Both my huts collapsed in flood water and were later washed away by the water. I need to reconstruct those damaged sheds, so I have to seek shelter at a dyke for longer,” said Hossain Ali from Fulchari upazila’s Ratanpur village in Gaibandha.
Meanwhile, the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) yesterday said the overall flood situation will continue to improve as water levels of all the major rivers, except the Ganges, are falling.
The centre yesterday monitored the water levels of different major rivers at 93 stations. Of these, 11 stations had water flowing above danger level.
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