Tidal surges damage crops just before harvest

Saline water from nearby Karkhana River badly damaged standing crops on around 2,000 acres of land of six villages in Kachipara union of Baufal upazila under the district as tidal surges flooded the lands in absence of any protection embankment.

Several hundred farmers of the villages, namely, Kachipara, Purbo Kachipara, Pashchim Kachipara, Gopalia Bazar, Char Raghunath, Karkhana and Amorkhali, are frustrated as their green crops got damaged shortly before they matured enough to be harvested.

"All the crops like mung, ground nut, chilli, sweet potato, mustard and til on my three acres of land have been destroyed by tidal surges from the Karkhana River just before the harvesting time. How will I maintain my family round the year?" said Abul Pada, a farmer of Amorkhali village.

"Earlier we urged the authorities to build an embankment on the riverbank to save our farmland from saline water but in vain," he said.

"We would harvest and sell green crops after a week but all the crops have been washed away. Aman cultivation will also be under threat if the authorities fail to build embankment before the rainy season," said Mohiuddin Khan, a farmer of Purbo Kachipara village.

Abdul Mannan, another farmer of the same village, said their fishes from ponds were washed away as tidal surges flooded the water bodies.

Villagers are badly suffering as many people cannot cook meal due to flooding of their hearths, said Munmun Nahar Munni, a newly elected UP member.

Md Sarwar Hossain, Baufal upazila agriculture extension officer, said embankment should be built on the riverbank as soon as possible to save the people living in the low lying areas from damage by tidal surges.