Aman Paddy of 16 Hectares of Land has Rotten
By Zeba Tarannum
The floodwaters have receded. The pavement has dried up. But the floodwaters have rotted Aman paddy in 1,600 hectares of land in eight wards of five unions near Dharla river in Fulbari Upazila of Kurigram, the dream of hundreds of farmers.
Although the first two phases of the floods did not cause much damage, the third phase of the floodwaters accumulated and destroyed hundreds of hectares of Aman fields. In this situation, the farmers of those areas are extremely worried about rice and cattle food.
According to the Upazila Agriculture Office, the third phase of the flood has damaged 1,600 hectares of Aman fields in five unions of the Upazila.
On Monday, Azizar Rahman (55), Nurul Haque (45), and Abed Ali (40), farmers of Dola area of Gatamari in Bhangamor Union, said, we planted the paddy with the sweat of our head and feet, but all went all in vain.
Abdus Sobahan (48), a farmer of Prankrishna village in Fulbari union, Awal Haque (45) of Jotkrishtahari village, and Badal Sarkar (38) of East Dhaniram village, said, BR-28 IRRI paddy yields throughout the year.
If the rotting paddy plants are removed and BR-28 paddy seedlings are planted in the soft soil, it is still possible to get the expected yield. But that is not possible without the official supply of saplings. They appealed to the agriculture department to come forward to stand by the affected farmers.
By visiting Rangamati and Khonchabari wards of Bhangamor union of the Upazila, East Dhaniram of Baravita Union, Partial area of West Dhaniram and Ghogarkuthi wards, Pranakrishna Ward of Phulbari Union, Jatindra Narayan and Roshan Shimulbari of Shimulbari Union, and Kishamat Shimulbari and Char Gorak Mandal of Naodanga Union it is seen that the hundreds of hectares of Aman farms belonging to farmers have been rotted in the floodwaters.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Mahbubur Rashid said Aman paddy has been planted in 11,720 hectares of land in the Upazila this season. The lowlands are flooded by incessant rains and upstream water from mountain has damaged 1,600 hectares of fields in the Upazila.
The Department of Agriculture will go to the field level and make a list affected farmers and send them to the district level. The agriculture department will provide various facilities to the affected farmers.
