Torrential rainfall, rising pre‑monsoon water levels, lightning strikes during thunderstorms, and submerged fields have left farmers in the haors struggling to save the Boro paddy, the lifeline for millions in the region.

“Half of my paddy is submerged in the field. And the paddy I managed to harvest is rotting at home due to a lack of sunlight,” said Abdur Rahim of Nakdora village in Netrokona’s Kalmakanda upazila.

“Now it feels like ‘harvest or not?’. Both are equally distressing,” he added.

Jhontu Chandra Das, a farmer from Bhandabil Haor in Sunamganj’s Shalla upazila, said even farm workers are no longer interested in Nayanbhaga, a traditional system where farmers offer half the paddy to anyone who harvests it during a disaster.

The situation has worsened as excessive rainfall continues. Five rivers have crossed the pre‑monsoon danger level, flooding vast swathes of low‑lying areas and submerging thousands of hectares of farmland.

Low‑lying crop fields in all seven haor districts -- Sunamganj, Netrokona, Moulvibazar, Kishoreganj, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, and Sylhet -- have been affected.

Contacted about government efforts to support haor farmers, Md Moniruzzaman, director of procurement at the Directorate General of Food, said a high‑level meeting was held yesterday. Food Secretary Abu Taher Md Masud Rana chaired the meeting, attended by deputy commissioners of the haor districts and officials from the Directorate General of Food.

Moniruzzaman said farmers will be allowed to use private rice mills and government warehouses to dry their paddy with departmental support, after which the Directorate General of Food will procure the dried paddy directly. Millers are also being encouraged to quickly purchase paddy and process it into rice so the government can maximise procurement while sustaining mill operations.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told parliament yesterday that the government will identify and assist haor farmers affected by heavy downpours over the next three months.

After Sunamganj‑5 MP Kalim Uddin Ahmed raised the issue, Tarique said, “Based on weather reports three days ago, I instructed local administrations in three haor districts, including Sunamganj, to take preparations according to forecasts and decide what measures could be taken in case of rainfall.”

The prime minister described the situation facing haor farmers as “very painful”. “Even before this sitting began this morning, I spoke with the disaster management minister and instructed him that three haor districts along with some areas of Mymensingh have faced various problems due to heavy rainfall.”

RIVERS SWELLING

As of yesterday afternoon, the Someshwari, Bhugai‑Kangsha, and Mogra rivers in Netrokona, Manu in Moulvibazar, and Sutang in Habiganj were flowing above the danger mark, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) of the Bangladesh Water Development Board.

The FFWC also forecast that the Surma and Kushiyara rivers may cross the danger level in the next three days, flooding vast areas in Sunamganj, Sylhet, and Habiganj. Heavy rainfall is likely to worsen the situation in Netrokona.

With three rivers swelling in Netrokona, almost all haors -- including Sonadubi, Goradoba, Angajura, Holavanga, and Boichajuri -- have been inundated.

Kishoreganj’s Nikli recorded the country’s highest rainfall of 160mm in 24 hours till yesterday morning, while Habiganj saw 125mm, according to the FFWC and Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

Rainfall upstream in India is decreasing, with 74mm recorded in Tripura’s Agartala and 68mm in Mawkyrwat, Meghalaya, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Farmers in the haor region cultivated paddy on 4,55,000 hectares this Boro season, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

With freshly submerged croplands, 5,715 hectares are now flooded, with around half the district’s paddy on the verge of damage, the DAE estimates.

Md Abu Zafur Al Munsur, deputy director for monitoring at the DAE field service wing, said latest estimates suggest rice crops on 27,000–28,000 hectares are at risk. “The crops may not be fully damaged if the water recedes within 15 days,” he added.

Asked about crop damage this season, Md Obaidur Rahman Mondol, director of the DAE field service wing, said it would take two to three days after the rain stops to assess the extent of losses.

Md Jamal Uddin, additional director for monitoring and implementation at the DAE field service wing, said 71 drier machines were being mobilised to Sunamganj as support.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, haor areas contribute nearly 20 percent of the country’s total Boro production.

DEBTS, DEATHS AND FALLING PRICES

Azizul Haque, a farmer from Hakaluki Haor in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura, said, “The harvested paddy is rotting on the floors as we cannot thresh or dry it. All we see is our hard‑earned crop decaying. I am in huge debt for this harvest, and my family will suffer for the rest of the year.”

In Nikli’s Singpur area of Kishoreganj, Abdul Qadir hired labourers at Tk 1,200 per day after seeing one acre of land afloat on Tuesday evening. But by yesterday morning, his paddy was submerged, labourers refused to work in water, and a thunderstorm alert loomed overhead.

Farmer Nur Hossain of Majlishpur in Nikli, Kishoreganj, was seen walking with an umbrella beside one of the largest threshing floors. “In favourable weather, hundreds of farmers and children would be busy threshing paddy here, but now the floors are empty. It is not just the fear of rain, but also of lightning,” he said.

Alongside torrential rainfall, Kalbaishakhi thunderstorms have struck different parts of the country, with lightning emerging as the deadliest hazard for farmers.

Media reports say 38 people have been killed by lightning strikes across the country this month alone, more than half of them farmers working in paddy fields.

Amid this crisis, many farmers are being forced to sell their harvested paddy at cheaper rates.

Makhon Mia of Siloni village in Itna, Kishoreganj, said prices are the lowest in years. He sold paddy at Tk 650-800 per maund (37.32kg) depending on quality, though production costs reached Tk 1,200 per maund due to higher fuel and fertiliser prices.

“While prices of everything else are rising, the value of farmers’ produce is declining,” he said.

[Our correspondents Sukanta Halder, Dwoha Chowdhury, Mintu Deshwara, Jaydul Islam, Tafsilul Aziz and Masuk Hridoy contributed to the report]