Boro on 700 hectares submerged
Hundreds of haor farmers in Sunamganj, Netrakona and Kishoreganj are left distraught after about 700 hectares of paddy fields became inundated in the last four days.
About 200 hectares of Boro paddy fields are submerged in Sunamganj's Tanguar Haor after the Nazarkhali levee broke due to a sudden rise in water level.
As much as 548 mm of rainfall was recorded in India's Meghalaya in the last two days, which caused the water level in Sunamganj rivers to soar two metres in two days, according to the Bangladesh Water Development Board in Sunamganj.
The sudden rise in water level triggered the early flash flood in the haor.
"We are in fear of losing our harvest if the water level keeps rising this way," said Sajidur Rahman, a farmer of Golabari village in the Tanguar Haor area.
As the Nazarkhali levee was not properly reconstructed, it posed a serious threat to all the harvest of two unions in the upazila, said Saidur Rahman, former chairman of Bangshikunda Dakshin union parishad in Madhyanagar upazila.
Najarkhali levee was not in the scheme but on request of the farmers, a few closures were reconstructed, said Md Shamsuddoha, executive engineer of BWDB in Sunamganj and general secretary for Kabita district committee.
However, the sudden flash flood devastated it all and it could not be protected, he said.
"We are now struggling to protect the Muktarkhola levee to protect the harvest," Rahman said.
Meanwhile, 500 hectares of boro paddy field outside the crop protection dam in different haor areas of Khaliajury upazila in Netrakona are submerged, said Md Jasim Uddin, Khaliajury upazila agriculture officer.
Boro paddy fields in Kirtankhola, Chunai, Monijaan, Hemnagor, Nayakhal and Bagani haors are affected due to the onrush of hilly waters from March 30.
Hilly waters through Jadukata and Surma rivers in Sunamganj flooded the Dhanu river in Khaliajury, which caused the flash flood.
The water level has risen to six feet in the last four days and the situation was unchanged as of yesterday, Jasim Uddin said.
If the water level in Dhanu river crosses its danger point for the onrush of hilly waters, it will bring a disastrous effect for thousands of haor farmers in different areas of the district, he added.
The boro fields in several areas of Kishoreganj's Itna upazila are also affected due to the onrush of hilly waters in the last couple of days.
Contacted, Md Saiful Alam, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said the officials are visiting the affected areas and the actual figure is yet to be prepared.
About 3.8 crore tonnes of rice were produced in fiscal 2020-21 with the dry season Boro variety making up 53 percent of the total yield, according to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
This season, the boro rice crop was planted on about 49.1 lakh hectares, up from 47.9 lakh hectares in the previous season.
The DAE has targeted acreage of 48.7 lakh hectares this boro season.