Ehsanul Haque Jasim :Thousands of acres of croplands in the northern and the northwestern parts of the country have been inundated and crops damaged in the prolonged flooding. The flood situation further deteriorated in several districts on Sunday.It has been difficult to hold classes in the schools in flood affected areas, as the school compound and adjacent areas have remained under floodwater for days together. Several thousand Aman farmers are facing uncertainty because of lack of saplings for replanting in their fields. The flood-hit people in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra, Jamalpur and some other districts are passing their days in misery for want of food, pure drinking water and the work. Many people have been confined to their homesteads, while some have made high platforms with bamboos and logs in their flooded rooms. The victims are desperately looking for relief. Locals have apprehended an outbreak of diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases in the flood-hit areas.Chaitanya Kumar Das, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said that in these districts more crops may be damaged, as vast areas are still under floodwater.The DAE estimated that around 2,50,000 hectares of croplands have been submerged in this year’s flooding. Most damage has been done to the fields of Aman paddy with little chance of recovery because the planting season is nearly over, said Chaitanya Kumar Das.According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) and the Water Development Board (WDB), the overall flood situation in Rajbari, Manikganj, Munshiganj and Shariatpur would deteriorate further, while the situation in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra, Sirajganj, Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona districts mayThe FFWC officials said that the Padma, the Brahmaputra and the Jamuna were on rising trend on Sunday, which may remain steady for the next 48 hours. However, the Ganges and the rivers in the northeastern part of the country were on falling trend, which may likely to continue for the next 72 hours. The officials also said that the rivers around the Dhaka city might remain steady for the next 24 hours. Sarder Udoy Raihan, Forecasting Officer of the FFWC, on Sunday told The New Nation that the water level registered rise at 33 points across the country, while the rivers were flowing above the danger level at 23 points. He, however, said that the rivers were flowing above the danger level at 50 points. In Bogra, many families at Shariyakandi and Sonatala upazilas of the district were found cooking foods on rafts made with banana plants while others went to safer places with their belongings, rowing rafts and boats, reported a correspondent from Bogra.Crops on at least 10,000 hectares of land in the district have been damaged, sources in the DAE said. Bogra Deputy Commissioner Ashraf Uddin said that they were trying their best to help the flood-affected people.According to the FFWC, the Jamuna River was flowing above the danger level at several points in the district. The water level was on rising trend. The water level in the river marked rise by 6 cm at Shariyakandi point and the river was flowing 77 cm above the danger level at the point. The water level marked rise by 4 cm at Bahaduarabad point and the Jamuna was flowing 65 cm above the danger level there. In Jamalpur, the flood situation has remained unchanged in all seven upazilas in the district, as banks of Jamuna River busted and water was flowing above the danger level. The Brahmaputra and the Bangalee Rivers were also flowing above the danger level. Jamalpur District Primary Education Officer Abdul Alim said they had closed 109 primary schools in the district for flood.In Kurigram, the flood situation remained unchanged in all the nine upazilas in the district. However, it worsened further in some areas of the upazilas on Sunday. Some portions of flood control embankment on Berubari-Kumedpur connecting road under Nageswari upazila disappeared in the water.Most of the villagers are starving due to want of food, relief goods and drinking water. On the other, the owners of cattle in the flood-affected areas find no grasses to feed their livestock. The Dharla and other rivers were on rising trend. The Dharla marked rise by 2 cm at Kurigram point, while the river was flowing 42 cm above the danger level at the point. The Brahmaputra was also on rising trend and it was flowing 44 cm above the danger level at Chilmari point. The water level increased 6 cm on Sunday. In Gaibandha, thousands of Aman farmers have also been affected by the flood in the district. The farmers are facing uncertainty due to lack of seedlings for replanting in their fields. The water level in the Ghagot River increased by 4 cm on Sunday at Gaibandha point and the river was flowing 60 cm above the dangler level at the point.
