Chalan Beel farmers asked to cut unripe crops before flood hits wetland

Farmers of wetland Chalan Beel in Natore have been advised to cut their unripe crops before they are submerged in floodwaters.

Flash floods and corruption around building embankments caused widespread damage to Boro rice plantations in backswamps or Haors of Sylhet and Mymensingh.

At Natore’s Singra, Upazila authorities have been making announcements on loudspeakers to urge farmers to cut their paddy.

Locals worried for their farms after water from the Atrai and Gur rivers began seeping into the Chalan Beel, the largest wetland in Bangladesh.

There have been attempts to reinforce damaged embankments.

But they were also finding it difficult to get enough farm hands to cut their crops. The water levels of Atrai and Gur have risen alarmingly following several days of heavy downpour.

Paddy fields at Noorpur and Bhagnagarkandi are already under water. The fields at Ningoin, Balubhara, Hashpukuria, Sherkol and Teligram would be submerged in a few days if the flow continues.

Bangladesh experienced the highest rainfall in April in 35 years, according to the Met office statistics.
In first three weeks of the month, nearly 8,904 mm of rain has been recorded against the April average of 4,053 mm.

“The authorities are telling us to cut our crops but where will I get so many workers to do it? I’m restless with worries,” said Ashkan Ali who planted Boro on 15 bighas at Chalan Beel’s Jor Mallika.

Embankments were being built or repaired at Jor Mallika, Ningoin and Patkol on an emergency basis following an order by the Upazila administration.

Soil barriers were put up against a flooding Atrai which was beginning to roil into the wetland, said Singra Upazila Agriculture Officer Sazzad Hossain.

“But it will not hold if the rains continue. The crops will then be badly damaged,” he said.

Around 150 hectares of land in Singra have been flooded in the last few days, said Deputy Director Rafikul Islam of the district agriculture office. He admitted there was a crisis of labour on top of the imminent threat.

There was little the authorities could do, said the official. The damage, he claimed, can be handled if it stops raining and will not affect overall production.