30 betel gardens gutted in two Jhenidah villages
A devastating fire destroyed betel gardens on 25 bighas of land at Chandpur-Bakshipur village in Jhenidah Sadar upazila yesterday. Photo: STAR
A devastating fire destroyed 30 betel leaf gardens in two villages in Sadar upazila yesterday. The fire might have originated from the butt of a cigarette, said Lutfor Rahman, an officer of Jhenidah Fire Station. The loss caused by the fire could go up to Tk 1 crore, he added. The affected farmers are Abdul Aziz, Abul Hossain, Abdul Khalek Biswas, Atiar Rahman, Hekmot Ali, Matiar Rahman, Ashadul Islam, Thandu Mandol, Jhantu Mandol, Mohidul Islam, Shariful Islam, Rabiul Islam, Lutfor Rahman and Hazrat Ali of Bakshipur village and Majedul Islam, Rahadul Islam, Abdul Mollik, Azizul Islam and Nazrul Islam of Chandpur village. They said a smoke was bellowing out from a garden of Abul Hossain at around 10:00am. “We immediately rushed to the spot, but the fire originated from the cigarette's butt soon engulfed the gardens on 25 bighas of land”, they added. On information, a fire fighting unit from Jhenidah rushed to the spot and doused the flame after three hours of frantic efforts. Farmer Rahadul Islam said he cultivated betel leaves on 20 decimal of land at the cost of Tk 1.5 lakh. He took loan from Brac for the farming, he said. "How will I repay the loan? How will I survive now?" he added. Sagana Union Parishad (UP) chairman Mozammel Haque said, the betel leaf farmers incurred huge loss due to the fire as they invested their all savings in the cultivation. Earlier, criminals 'torched' a betel leaf garden at Madhabpur village in the upazila yesterday on Thursday afternoon.
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