Anisur Rahman Khan :
The depression induced heavy rainfalls across the country have wreaked havoc in different districts, specially the southern ones, by flooding hundreds of shrimp enclosures, destruction of houses and large-scale river erosions.
The consecutive rains caused by the low pressure in the Bay of Bengal have put the livelihood of people in disarray while hundreds of acres of paddy saplings have been submerged with fear of crop loss.
The heavy shower has brought lives to a standstill across the country including the capital, which experienced heavy traffic congestions from Gazipur to the capital’s streets on Wednesday causing immense sufferings to people throughout the day.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department says the rain will continue for the next two days and will begin to subside from Friday.
Due to rain, the low-lying areas of the coastal districts such as Satkhira, Khulna, Bagherhat, Jhalokhathi, Pirojpur, Borguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Barishal, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar and their offshore islands and char lands are likely to be inundated.
At least 1,920 shrimp farms in coastal areas including Mongla will have an economic loss due to weeklong continuous rains, the Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Mohammad Zahidul Islam said to this correspondent on Wednesday.
He said that there has been extensive damage to small and large shrimp enclosures in different areas due to tidal and rain water.
“The most affected areas are Chandpai, Chila and Mithakhali union constituencies which suffered the most damage as it has caused a financial loss of about crores of Taka,” he said.
Mrinmoy Das, a shrimp farm owner of Mithakhali village, said “Some portion of the fence of his farm was damaged due to last night’s heavy rain. The rest of the farm was inundated by high tides in the morning.”
“All fishes were washed away and many of my other neighbours had faced the same fate. It is a huge economic loss
for us. I do not know what to do,” he told the New Nation over phone.
However, Mohammad Zahidul Islam, the Senior Fisheries Officer of the Upazila, said that 1,920 fish farms in Mithakhali, Chandpai, Sundarbans and Buridanga unions of the Upazila have been submerged due to the rains for four consecutive days and tidal surge.
“Local fish farm owners have suffered serious economic loss. We have a compensation plan for the affected fish farmers,” he said.
Meanwhile, another hub of shrimp farming in Satkhira has witnessed the inundation of hundreds of fish farms with huge economic loss.
Besides, hundreds of acres of saplings have been submerged due to river water in Bhairab Upazila of Kishoreganj. Farmers are now worried about how they will manage such damage.
“If water remains in the fields for a few more days, the rice seedlings will rot,” said Ariful Islam, a farmer of Rasulpur village under Kishorganj.
In Munshiganj, the river erosion in the district has badly affected the Banglabazar area on the bank of Padma river. Some half kilometer area of Sardarkandi, Shambhudarkandi was washed away. Some two hundred families have been affected by the river erosion.
In Kurigram, about 150 families in Begumganj union have lost their homesteads due to river erosion in the last two weeks and about 400-500 bighas of standing crops have been inundated.
The local administration is working to make a list of the affected population in the area.
