Our Correspondent :
Incessant downpour accompanied with the unprecedented heavy onrush of the river water during the flood tide (continued for a fortnight) inundated all the crop lands of nine Upazilas of Bagerhat district. As a result farmers who cultivated different kinds of crops (paddy and vegetables) and fish (shrimps and lobsters) were badly affected. The excessive and long standing water logging damaged the roots of the vegetables and other crops and they are being dried just with the beginning of receding of the water from the crop fields. According to an assessment done by Bagerhat district Agriculture Extension Department, different kinds of crops of some 9.5 hectares of lands were damaged in the district.
According to the assessment, Aus paddy, transplanted Aman paddy, different kinds of vegetable, betel-leaves, sugar canes and chilly were cultivated on some 52 thousand 3 hundred 9 hectares of lands in the nine Upazilas of the district in this calendar year. Out of them 6 hundred 97 hectares lands were the seedbeds of transplanted Aman paddy alone.
So, it is apprehended by the farmers that the target of the transplanted Aman paddy cultivation of the district may not be achieved in the current season due to the damage of the transplanted Aman seedbeds.
It is learnt from the Agriculture Extension department, due to the heavy downpour and unprecedented on rush of the river water as many as 25 thousand 3 hundred 68 farmers of the district suffered a heavy loss of Tk.17 crores 18 lakh 92 thousand. It may be mentioned here that only a few months ago the farmers of the district suffered another loss when the cyclone Amfan swept over the coastal districts of the country.
They could not be able to make up their loss. But in spite of that they had to suffer this irreparable loss caused by the incessant rains and unprecedented heavy tidal surge. It was out of their imagination.
One Rustam Mridha hails from Chitalmari Upazila in the district said that he cultivated different kinds of vegetables like tomato, okra, chilly etc. on the boundary-embankments of his fish farm and its adjacent (high) lands. But all the vegetable plants were inundated with river and rain water for several days. Consequently, they are being dried up gradually with receding of the stagnant water and ultimately, they will be completely damaged. He added, after the complete receding of the water from the crop lands and if the weather is favourable we will be able to prepare the lands for the cultivation.
One Shahidul Islam of village Taleswar under Kachua Upazila told the newsmen, fish (mainly shrimps and lobsters) cultivated in our fish farms were completely washed away by the rain water and heavy onrush of the river water and at present our cultivated vegetable plants are dying before ours eyes.
He added, government is giving incentive to the cyclone Amfan and corona pandemic affected people by allocating money and we will be able to survive if the government is kindly extend such incentive to us.
Raghunath Kar, Deputy Director of Bagerhat district Agriculture Extension Department disclosed to the newsmen, 33 per cent more than the total requirements of transplanted Aman paddy seedbeds were prepared earlier. So, this excess 33 per cent transplanted Aman paddy seedlings will be able to make up the shortage of the (transplanted) Aman paddy seedlings.
