Crop cultivation increasing on dried up riverbeds in Rangpur

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BSS, Rangpur :
Cultivation of winter crops on the dried up riverbeds and sandy char lands is expanding every year improving livelihoods of many river eroded, poor and landless people in Rangpur region.
Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said the char people started cultivation of various crops since last October after appearance of shoals and islands on the riverbeds following recession of water.
“The growing tender plants of various crops have given the dried up riverbeds and char lands greenish looks as the process of sowing seed still continues in the region on the Brahmaputra basin,” said Horticulture Specialist of DAE Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam.
The char people are expected to bring over 90,000 hectares of land under cultivation of various crops on the char lands and dried up beds of different rivers and tributaries this season in all five districts of the agriculture region.
“Crop cultivation on the char lands, shoals and silted-up beds of the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Ghaghot, Jamuna, Kartoa and other rivers is increasing every year during the past two decades on the Brahmaputra basin,”Islam said.
Cultivation of various crops on these lands has become possible due to abnormal lowering of the underground water level causing drying up and silting up of riverbeds, massive deposition of alluvial soil and some other reasons.
The farmers are cultivating Boro rice, onion, green chili, garlic, maize, wheat, vegetables, gourd, groundnut, ‘kawn’, pulses, ‘gunji till’, tobacco, pumpkin, pulses, oil seed and watermelon on these lands and getting excellent production every year.
“The char people had cultivated crops on over 86,000 hectares of such lands during the last winter season in all five districts under Rangpur agriculture region and harvested bumper yields before commencement of the rainy season,” Islam added.
Talking to BSS, Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office Md Moniruzzaman said the char people are still continuing the process of sowing seed of most of the crops on the dried-up riverbeds and char lands in the region.
“Cultivation of crops is taking place on the silted up and dried up beds of different rivers and their tributaries with emergence of shoals and islands following various reasons, including adverse impacts of climate change,” Moniruzzaman added.
Editor Nurul Amin Sarker, of the Weekly Juger Khabar being published from Chilmari upazila town in Kurigram said the char people will begin harvest of mustard, pumpkin, onion, garlic and many other early varieties of winter crops from February next.
A number of people of different char villages expressed satisfaction over excellent growth of tender plants of their cultivated crops on the dried up river beds and char lands though the cultivation process will continue till the middle of the next month.
Char people Kobiza Khatun and Nure Alam of Gangachara upazila in Rangpur and Abdul Mazid of Jaldhaka upazila in Nilphamari said they were expectingbumper production of their crops cultivated on the dried-up riverbeds this time like in the previous years.

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