Weeks after the first blow of the early flash flood, another flood started inundating crops in a haor in Sunamganj. This flood is triggered by torrential rains in the country’s northeastern districts and India’s Meghalaya. All rivers and canals in the haor area flow close to the danger level, posing risks to Boro paddy on around 2,000 hectares. If water from Gurmar Haor goes into Tanguar Haor, breaching the levees between the two water bodies, paddy in Tanguar Haor will also be damaged.
Since the first blow in the last week of March, locals have struggled to protect all dykes and save their crops. Around 7,000 hectares of Boro lands of Tanguar Haor, Eraliakona, and Gunnakuri Haor under Tahirpur Upazila became inundated due to a surge of water downstream, breaking past the protective barrier. In Sunamganj, over 30,000 hectares of Boro paddy have been harvested from 2.22 lakh hectares of Boro cultivation until Saturday. About 7,083 hectares of paddy have gone underwater in the region, causing a loss of around Tk 125 crore. The water level in the rivers keeps rising, and farmers are at risk of losing crops as water may enter haors breaching the earthen dykes.
The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has repaired the 53km long submersible crop protection embankment and ten closures through 68 Project Implementation Committees. We know the dam and the closures are not perfectly repaired. The government should extend necessary support to these people according to their needs. Short-term and long-term measures should be taken for the protecting crops from damage. Immediate measures should also be taken for renovating embankments/dykes of vulnerable spots in the haor. At the same time, crop insurance should be introduced to protect affected people’s lives.
Earlier in 2017, we observed the water entered the croplands through the breached dyke and destabilised the country’s food security. We ask the government to learn from the situation and erect embankments perfectly thus it protects the croplands and settlements.
