Betel leaves on 20 bighas 'torched' in Jhenidah
Second such attack in 11 days
Hapless betel farmer Suman Das of Dulalmundia village in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenidah gives a bleak look at his orchard torched allegedly by the criminals on Sunday night.Photo: STAR
Betel leaves on about 20 bighas of land were torched' at two adjacent villages--Raigram and Dulalmundia--in Kaliganj upazila of the district on Sunday night. Locals and betel farmers alleged that the criminals set the betel-leaf orchard of one Dilip Sen on fire that soon engulfed the other farms, causing damage to betel leaves worth about Tk 1 crore. The affected farmers are Arup Sen, Basudev Sen, Gour Hari, Jaga Das, Netai Das, Joy Das, Kanai Lal Dutta, Ujjal Das, Naresh Das, Dinabandhu Dutta, Nimai Das, and Madhai Das of Raigram village, and Dilip Sen and Suman of Dulalmundia village in the upazila. This was the second arson attack on betel-leaf gardens in the upazila within a span of 11 days. On February 9, a gang of criminals allegedly set ablaze betel leaves on 60 bighas of land at adjacent Balidapara and Dulalmundia. Several such incidents of arson took place in Kaliganj upazila last year, but no action was taken against the persons involved, locals alleged. While visiting the area yesterday morning, the farmers told this correspondent that they cultivated betel, taking loans from banks and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). “Betel farming is the only source of our livelihood. But fire completely damaged our leaf farms, they said. Farmer Arup Sen said he cultivated betel on three bighas of land, taking loan from bank. “How will I repay the loan and maintain my family?," he posed. Sumon Das, another betel-leaf grower, said he has taken loan from Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) and spent those in betel-farming on two bighas of land. He demanded immediate investigation into the two arson attacks and exemplary punishment to the criminals. Sumon also urged the government to give financial support to the affected farmers so that they can recover the loss. Jhenidah fire station officer Lutfor Rahman said they reached the spot at around 8:00 pm on Sunday and extinguished the fire with the help of Kotchandpur fire service unit and locals. The extent of damage caused by the fire would be around Tk 1.5 crore, he added. Abdul Hamid, secretary of Kaliganj Betel Farmers Association, and Amalendu Biswas, secretary of Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad visited the area yesterday morning.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments