Irri-Boro farming on 15,000 acres in Satkhira uncertain

Irri-Boro cultivation on over 15,000 acres of land in nine beels (water bodies) of Satkhira Sadar upazila has become uncertain due to persistent water-logging.
Water from silted Betna river entered the water bodies in Jhhowdanga, Balli and Labsa unions in July this year and still remains stagnant as no measures have been taken yet to address the problem.
Farmers of 17 villages in the three unions could not reap Aman and other crops from 15,000 acres of land as water-logging caused damage to them.
The villages are Balli, Jhhowdanga, Rajnagar, Amtala, Waria, Tujalpur, Shibnagar, Debnagar, Khejurdanga, Akhrakhola, Hajipur, Balandanga, Raghunathpur, Rajbari, Bayarkhola, Biharinagar, Gopinathpur
While visiting the areas recently, some locals alleged that they had repeatedly appealed to the local and district administrations to remove water-logging from the nine water bodies, but to no effect.
They said if the problem is not solved immediately, they will have to let the land fallow. “If we do not grow crops this winter, we will have to die from starvation,” said Abdur Razzak, a farmer of Rajnagar village.
On the other hand, river Betna has lost its navigability due to massive deposit of silt. Water from the silted river enters the villages in the three unions, overflowing the banks during the rainy season and causes flood.
Contacted, WDB Executive Engineer Md Abdul Mannan Khan said without dredging the silted Betna river, it will not be possible to get back its navigability.