Dhaka – Some 3.41 lakh farmers were affected in four districts of Sylhet division as over 1.13 lakh hectares of boro paddy in haors of Sunamganj, Sylhet, Moulvibazar and Habiganj have gone under water following flashflood caused by heavy rainfall and onrush of water from the upstream. UNB news agency reported
Of them, 171,870 farmers fell victims to flood in Sunamganj while 103,104 in Sylhet, 30,828 in Moulvibazar and 35,211 in Habiganj, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Sylhet.
The DAE said some 113,672 lakh hectares of croplands in haors of the four districts were inundated by the flashflood in the last 23 days.
Of those, some 57,289 hectares of boro paddy were damaged in Sunmganj while 34,379 hectares in Sylhet, 10,277 hectares in Moulvibazar and 11,737 hectares in Habiganj, said Sylhet DAE deputy director Dr Mamunur Rashid.
In Sunamganj, around 15,000 hectares of paddy were submerged in the early hours of Sunday as two dams in Shonir Haor in Tahirpur upazila collapsed.
The north side of an embankment collapsed at Lalur Goala around 1am while another dam broke down in front of Ramjibonpur village around 7am following a surge in water level in the haor, said upazila chairman Quamruzzaman Quamrul.
Visiting the spot, UNB Sunamganj Correspondent found water gushing through the broken embankments in the Shonir haor due.
Some farmers were seen harvesting half-ripe boro paddy which went under water.
Hadis Miah, a farmer of Tahirpur village, said he lost his boro paddy also last year as the haor was flooded due to the heavy rainfall and onrush from the upstream.
He also said he was harvesting green and half-ripe paddy before those were fully inundated.
Incessant rainfall paired with water flowing down from the upstream hilly areas increased the water level on the hoar, said Quamrul.
Meanwhile, flood caused by endless rainfall and onrush of water from upstream have submerged 15,000 hectares of boro paddy in a good numbers of haors and low-lying areas of Atpara, Barhatta, Kalmakanda, Kendua, Madan and Purbadhala upazilas in Netrakona in the last three days.
Locals said they started to harvest the half-ripe paddy fearing that the flood might have inundated the high-lying areas as water continued to surge.
Netrakona deputy commissioner Dr M Mushfiqur Rahman told reporters that they will provide relief to each affected families in the disaster-hit areas after preparing a list.
Besides, several hundred hectares of boro paddy and 10 villages of Jhenigati, Nalitabari and Nakla upazilas of Sherpur district were inundated on Sunday following the onrush water from the upstream.
