A farmer died in Brahmanbaria after seeing his paddy submerged by floodwater, as days of heavy rain inundated vast cropland and left many growers distressed and facing severe losses.
A farmer died in his field in Bangladesh’s Brahmanbaria district after seeing his paddy crop submerged under water, officials and family members said, as days of continuous rain left thousands of bighas of farmland in the area inundated.
The incident took place at around 8:00 am on Saturday in Rampur village under Gualnagar union of Nasirnagar upazila.
The dead farmer, Ahad Mia, 55, had gone to his land with labourers in the morning to harvest paddy, family members said. When he reached the field, he found that all the paddy on nearly six bighas of land he had cultivated had gone under water. He suddenly fell ill after seeing the damage and died on the spot.
Family members and local residents believe he died after suffering a stroke. Doctors, however, said the death could also have been caused by a heart-related condition.
Ahad Mia’s elder brother and local union parishad member Ahammad Hossain said vast stretches of cropland in the area had gone under water after several days of continuous rain. He said Ahad Mia broke down mentally after seeing the damage to his land and died there in the field.
Local sources said Ahad Mia had taken out loans to cultivate BRI-29 paddy on six bighas of land. But the crop was destroyed by sudden rain. Labourers and local residents later took his body home and he was buried after the Zohr prayer.
Several other farmers in the same area have also fallen ill for the same reason and are now receiving treatment at different hospitals, according to local sources.
Thousands of bighas of paddy fields in Gualnagar union have been submerged by persistent rain, causing extensive damage, they said.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Imran Shakil said authorities had learned that a farmer died in the field while harvesting paddy. “We have also received reports that several others have fallen sick,” he said, adding that a concerned official had been sent to look into the incident.
Nasirnagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shahina Nasrin said many farmers had reported that their paddy fields were submerged by rain over the last few days. “We have learned that a farmer died in the field while cutting paddy,” she said. “If the incident is found to be true, their names will be sent to the Ministry of Relief so that assistance can be arranged for them.”
