Flooding hits 50 haors in Sunamganj as 500 hectares of paddy sink in Netrokona

Flooding across Sunamganj and Netrokona has submerged vast boro fields, damaging crops and heightening farmer fears as forecasts warn of continued rainfall and worsening waterlogging in vulnerable haor regions.

Waterlogging has spread across around 50 haors in Sunamganj while at least 500 hectares of paddy land have gone under water in neighbouring Netrokona, raising fresh fears for farmers as officials warn of more rain until April 10.

The Department of Agricultural Extension said it has not yet been possible to determine the full extent of the damage. The Bangladesh Water Development Board has meanwhile forecast moderate to heavy rainfall through April 10, deepening anxiety across the haor region.

According to agriculture officials, boro paddy has been cultivated on 223,511 hectares of land in Sunamganj this season. Green, unripe paddy now covers fields across the district. But 15 straight days of rain have caused waterlogging in low-lying haor lands.

The situation is particularly worrying in Tanguar Haor. In Tahirpur and Madhyanagar upazilas, most parts of nearly 20 large and small haors and beels have gone under water. Unripe paddy has started to rot.

Local farmers say the Nazarkhali embankment on the Tahirpur side of Tanguar Haor collapsed as river water rose during the prolonged rain. No government embankment was built there because the area is a Ramsar site, an internationally important protected wetland. Farmers usually repair the embankment each year at their own expense, but that was not done this time. As a result, farmers in 82 villages around Tanguar Haor have been affected.

One of them, Raisul Haque, said all of his eight kias, or bighas, of land had gone completely under water and there was no longer any hope of harvesting paddy from it. Another farmer, Babul Mia, said the haor flooded just as the paddy was beginning to ear, causing rot to set in. He warned that if the rain continued farmers would be ruined.

Sunamganj agriculture department deputy director Mohammad Omar Faruk said 1,189 hectares of boro land in different haors of the district had been affected by water. He said the extent of the losses had yet to be assessed. Many farmers are trying to drain out water on their own, while government efforts are also under way in some areas.

In Sunamganj’s Dakua Haor, rising waterlogging also triggered clashes among residents of four villages after an embankment was cut. Several people were injured. Authorities imposed Section 144 in the area to restore order.

Heavy rain has also caused severe damage to boro crops in Netrokona, where vast stretches of paddy land awaiting ripening after the emergence of panicles were suddenly inundated. Local farmers allege that poorly planned crop protection embankments are obstructing drainage and worsening the damage.

The Department of Agricultural Extension said boro has been cultivated on 41,065 hectares of land in Netrokona’s haor region this season, while total cultivation across the district stands at 185,548 hectares. Recent rain has submerged at least 505 hectares of boro paddy land. Earlier, hailstorms in mid-March damaged another 323 hectares. Local farmers, however, claim the real losses are several times higher than the official estimate.

Inquiries found that heavy rain has left half-ripe paddy standing under water on hundreds of hectares in Kolmakanda, Mohanganj, Madan, Khaliajuri and Barhatta upazilas. Locals in the Dingapota haor area fear crop losses as waterlogging has developed there too.

Mukhlesur Rahman, a farmer from Gourdakanda village in Mohanganj, said he had cultivated paddy on 25 kias of land but now feared the crop would be destroyed by standing water after days of rain.

Kamrul Islam, a farmer from Tetulia Purbapara village, voiced similar concern. He said he had borrowed advance money from local lenders, commission agents and an NGO to cultivate paddy on 20 kathas of land and now faced severe uncertainty over whether he would be able to sell his crop. If the rain continues, many farmers will face not only crop losses but also financial hardship under the burden of debt, he said.

Netrokona agriculture department deputy director Amirul Islam Bonik Barta said boro harvesting in the haor usually begins after April 15. This year, however, excessive rain from early March has caused waterlogging in some parts of the haor. He said there was no reason for farmers to panic, adding that there would be no problem unless the paddy plants were fully submerged or water rose up to below the panicles.

Netrokona deputy commissioner Khandakar Mushfiqur Rahman said officials from the relevant departments had been instructed to provide necessary support to haor farmers.

Kishoreganj also suffered damage in late March when hailstorms hit several thousand acres of boro fields. In the same way, about 100 bighas of half-ripe boro paddy have gone under water in two beels in the Hakaluki Haor area of Kulaura upazila in Moulvibazar. Locals said crops in two nearby beels are also at risk.

Affected farmers said heavy rain fell continuously for several hours on Friday night. At the same time, hill runoff from upstream came down through the Juri, Kanthinala, Gogalichhara and Fanai rivers connected to the haor. From Saturday morning, water began entering the Ugla and Hasairdibi beels.It had submerged the paddy fields in both wetlands.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre of the Bangladesh Water Development Board said Sylhet, especially the haor region, could receive moderate to heavy rainfall of 23 to 88 millimetres a day through April 10. Rainfall is expected to ease slightly on April 11 and 12 to light to moderate levels.

The forecast also said water levels in the main rivers of the northeast are rising. The Surma-Kushiyara river system in Sylhet and Sunamganj and the Dhanu-Baulai rivers in Kishoreganj are increasing, while water levels in the Bhugai-Kongsho rivers in Netrokona are falling slightly.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said rainfall over the haor basin and upstream areas during the past seven days had been above normal. Sardar Uday Raihan, executive engineer at the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, told that although rainfall had increased, the immediate risk of a major flood remained low. He said water levels may continue rising but are likely to stay below the pre-monsoon danger mark.

This post is republished from Bonik barta.