The plight of the haor people intensified with the rotting of their paddy in flash flood and death of their ducks for eating dead fish.
The poorer farmers of the Hakaluki and neighbouring haors have become undone as most of them are in the net of NGO’s loans. They are badly in need of the government support in this regard.
Local people said, hundreds of ducks have died in Sylhet’s Fenchuganj and Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazilas, where duck farming is a major source of earning livelihood for the locals around Hakaluki and neighboring haor areas. The dead ducks are found floating in the waters of Hakaluki haor.
“We have never seen such a dying spree of ducks before. Most of the farmers have lost their ducks in just two days,” said Abdul Malik from Ashighar village beside Hakaluki haor.
Abul Hossain and Sabu Mian from Maijbhag said, most of the farmers of the area have become helpless for the flash flood.
“Unexpected flood destroyed our paddy. We lost the main source of our livelihood. Then the fishes died. It was our another source of earning and thereafter we lost our ducks, our last source of livelihood,” said Kadim Shah from Ghilachari village of the area. Ahmed Hossain said, after losing paddy most of the haormen wanted to depend on ducks. They sell duck’s eggs to earn their daily needs and to repay their loans to NGO’s.
Sabir Mian a farmer, said he lost all of his 260 ducks. Ahmedullah and Sagir Mollah also lost their 600 ducks.
“After a storm on the night of April 15, an intolerable stink spread in wind. After then we have found fishes to die in the haor water. The ducks are dying after eating those fishes,” Kadim Shah said.
Officials of livestock offices said, the fishes may die after eating rotten paddy.
They also mark it as a plague caused by the rotten half-ripe paddy and dead fish.
Dr Mamunur Rashid, Deputy Director of Agriculture Extension Department, Sylhet, said, “The toxicity of the water emerged due to the rotten half-ripe paddy. It caused the death of the ducks.”
Sultan Mahmud, the fishery officer of Kulaura Upazila said, “The fishes might have died after having been affected by ammonia gas. And when the ducks ate those fishes, they also died.” He said the farmers should be aware of the matter.
The officer said that the offices sprayed limestones and medicines in the haor water to reduce toxic.
The official sources said few thousand KG’s of limestone and medicine were sprayed from Monday to Wednesday in haor water.
The officials said it is not sufficient as there is vast water in the haor, but the move is found positive. The death of fish dropped after spraying limestone and medicines. They said it will be continued.
