100 bighas of Boro paddy at risk in Lalmonirhat
Boro paddy on more than 100 bighas of land has remained submerged for several days in Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat district due to obstruction of drainage through a canal.
More than 50 farmers are worried that the submerged paddy will be completely damaged.
Farmers in Jhurir Dola area said that sudden rain caused the water to rise in the area. As a result, Boro paddy has gone under water.
Due to a lack of proper drainage system, that water could not be flushed out of the fields resulting in the flooding of the paddy fields.
They further added that the rainwater used to be drained by a canal. However, a local farmer, Gaziur Rahman, choked the mouth of the canal two years ago in a bid to cultivate crops there.
Khurshid Alam, a local farmer, said that his one bigha of land has submerged. If water is not drained in the next few days, the paddy will rot. More than fifty farmers will lose their staple, if the crops get ruined.
"Even though we told Gaziur to keep the mouth of the canal open, he didn't pay heed to us," he also said.
"Sudden rain and the subsequent water logging have made us helpless. Gaziur has been cultivating crops illegally blocking the mouth of the canal, which is crucial for flushing out rainwater," said another farmer Shafiqul Islam.
Contacted, farmer Gaziur Rahman said that he owns the lands in the mouth of the canal. He has been farming crops here by filling soil in the mouth of canal.
"It is not possible for me to keep the mouth of the canal free by ruining my crops", he said.
Aditmari Upazila Agriculture Officer Ali Noor said that they will take action after visiting the Jhurir Dola area.
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