Flood destroys Tk 141cr worth of crops in Tangail
More than 1 lakh farmers of crops and vegetables in Tangail incurred a loss of Tk 141 crore due to the prolonged and devastating flood this year.
As many as 11 out of the 12 upazilas in the district were affected by the flood due to onrush water from the upstream and heavy rains.
The areas beside the Jamuna, Dhalleswari, Louhajang, Jhinai and Banshi rivers were the worst hit, and the scale of devastation is becoming clearer with the receding floodwater.
Fields of different crops of 18,126 hectares of land were inundated in the flood, of which crops of 13,292 hectares were fully damaged, said Md Shariful Islam, a sub-assistant agriculture officer at the office of deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Tangail.
The damaged crops are: Bona (broadcast) Aman paddy of 10,588 hectares, seedbeds of Ropa (transplanted) Aman paddy of 1,359 hectares and Aus paddy of 1,808 hectares.
Different vegetables of 1,464 hectares were also damaged along with jute of 765 hectares, oilseeds of 1,652 hectares, sugarcane of 65 hectares, banana of 45 hectares and lemon of 380 hectares.
The DAE officials said different crops and vegetables of 5,928 hectares of land were inundated at six upazilas in the district by the first phase of the flood until 11 July.
Of these, crops and vegetables of 3,840 hectares of land were damaged fully. Some 27,233 farmers incurred a loss of Tk 41.55 crore in this spell.
On the other hand, crops and vegetables on 12,198 hectares of land were inundated in the second phase of the flood until 13 August. Of these, crops and vegetables of 10,051 hectares were fully damaged, incurring a loss of Tk 99.70 crore for 80,158 farmers.
Both the coronavirus outbreak and the deadly flood hit the farmers hard.
Meantime, Agriculture Secretary Mohammad Nasiruzzaman visited the flood-affected Nagarpur upazila in the district on 6 August.
"Many farmers have been affected by the floods this time. Many of them were unable to harvest their crops properly," he said after having chats with the locals.
The government has decided to distribute seeds and saplings for free among the affected farmers, he said.
"We will try to compensate by listing the affected farmers in the aftermath of the floods, providing them with seeds and saplings so that they can grow crops again."
However, several farmers in the district said giving seeds and saplings at free of cost will not be enough for them to recover the losses.
They stressed the need for distribution of cash incentives as soon as possible.
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