Sand on arable land worries farmers

About 150 bighas of arable land at Teesta river basin Barabari village in Patgram upazila of the district have become sandy due to floodwater remaining clogged for long, much to the worry about livelihoods of at least 50 farmer families.

Farmer Sohrab Ali, 55, of the village in Dahagram union, said he is very worried about livelihood of his five-member family as his two bighas of arable land, which went under recent floodwater, have become sandy.  

Due to the situation, many are finding alternative sources of income to maintain family burden, he said.

Dahagram is a remote area where agriculture is the lone source of earning, Sohrab said, adding that huge sand deposited by this year's floodwater made over 150 bighas of arable land in the village unfit for cultivation.

Bidubhusan Roy, deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat, said a vast tract of arable land in different areas of Teesta and Dharla rivers basin have become sandy as recent floodwater brought huge sands there.

The farmers cannot cultivate any crops until the sand is removed from the lands, he said.