The boro crops of two haors at two upazilas in Sunamganj went under water in the early morning on Tuesday due to incessant heavy rainfall since Sunday and flood water flowing down a cross border river.
Rice growers of Naluar Haor under Chilaura Haldipur union of Jagannathpur upazila and Eranbil Haor at Madhyanagar upazila in the district became baffled to find the overnight disaster.
Sunamganj Water Development Board recorded 137 millimetres rainfall in last 24 hours ended on Tuesday 9:00am.
However, the water of the Surma River was flowing 1.93 metres bellow the danger level at Shologhar Point in the Sunamganj town at 6:00pm and the Zadukata River at Tahirpur upazila was flowing 13 centimetres below the danger mark at 3:00pm, said Sunamganj WDB executive engineer Md Mamun Hawlader.
Chilaura Haldipur Union Parishad former member Ranadhir Das Nantu told New Age that farmers could not harvest swiftly the crops of most of the land in the Naluar Haor due to water-logging and shortage of agricultural labourers.
‘The continuous rainfall for the last two days have submerged all the ripen crops of the low-lying part in the haor. At least 1,500 hectares of croplands have been submerged in the torrential rains’ he said.
Many farmers of the Naluar Haor alleged that their crops were submerged in the rainwater since there was no arrangement for water drainage.
They claimed that the crop protection embankment of the haor had become a death trap for them this time.
Jagannathpur upazila agriculture officer Kawsar Ahmed told New Age in the afternoon that 60 per cent of the boro crops from the Naluar Haor had been harvested before Tuesday.
‘However, farmers are still trying to harvest the submerged ripen paddy using boats,’ he told New Age in the afternoon.
Local people said that crops of the Eranbil Haor at Madhyanagar upazila went under water early Tuesday as the stream of flood water coming from across the border entered after breaking a rural path of Hamidpur village along the haor.
Sunamganj Agricultural Department deputy director Omar Faruk told that more than 40 per cent of the boro crops had been harvested before the haor was flooded.
