Boon to one, bane of others
Fish farm owner blocks flow from water body damaging aman plants of hundreds of farmers
Water-logging due to obstruction by embankments of a fish enclosure, made by a local influential person in Nornoi Beel in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, causes damage to aman paddy, inset, on a few hundred acres of land.Photo: STAR
Aman plants on hundreds of acres of land have been damaged due to water logging in Nornoi Beel in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila as owners of a fish firm allegedly blocked a drainage channel connecting the water body. Around five hundred families, who are dependent on earnings from the lands in the beel (shallow water body) area, are worried due to the situation. In last June, fish farm Flaxen Fisheries with the help of some local influential people dug four big ponds on 20 acres of land in the beel, several farmers said during this correspondent's visit to the area on Friday. To save the ponds from overflowing during heavy rain, they have raised embankments around the four ponds, blocking a drainage channel to the water body, they said. The stagnant water has fully damaged plants on five hundred acres of land and partially damaged plants on another five hundred acres of land, said Nazrul Islam, a farmer of Laxmipur village. Showing damaged plants on his field, he said he cultivated aman on 9-bigha of land twice spending Tk 27,000 but it was destroyed due to water logging. Madhu Barman of Debadangi village, who cultivated paddy on a two-bigha land, said they urged the owner of Flaxen Fisheries not to dig ponds on the beel area but to no effect. "I transplanted aman on four-bigha of land on the beel but it got fully damaged due to water logging. Earlier we did not see any water logging in the beel area. My family is dependent on the earnings from the land," said Dabirul Islam, 40, of Khalpara village under sadar upazila. Admitting the problem of water logging, Project Director of Flaxen Fisheries Iqbal Jahangir, said, "We made a 20-feet-wide canal beside the ponds to ease passing of water. The problem will be solved by making a wider canal in the coming season." "After receiving complaints from the farmers, I visited the area and asked the upazila chairman and union parishad chairman to solve the matter through discussion with both sides," Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shahiduzzaman said. Earlier on Tuesday, farmers of eight villages, who cultivated aman on the beel, laid siege to the deputy commissioner's office demanding steps to save their aman plants on 2000 acres of land from water logging. They also formed a human chain at Mothurapur village demanding removal of the embankment of the ponds that block a drainage canal connected with Nornoi Beel.
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