Seven Upazilas of Jamalpur District
Farmers to count heavy losses as crops damaged by floods
Transplanted aman seedlings on a vast tract of land at Charnadangari village in Balijuri union under Madarganj upazila of Jamalpur district get damaged by the recent flood. Photo: STAR
Crops on vast tract of lands in all seven upazilas of the district have been completely damaged by the recent floods. A large number of badly hit farmers in Islampur, Dewanganj, Maderganj, Melandah, Bakshiganj, Sarishabari and Jamalpur Sadar upazila became frustrated as they incurred severe financial loss. Sources at Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Jamalpur said, transplanted aman, vegetables, chilli and black gram were cultivated on at least 124273 hectares in the district. Of them, 38655 crops on hectares were completely damaged by the floodwaters. The damaged crops include aman paddy on 30085 hectares, vegetables on 3740 hectares, chilly on 3144 hectares and black gram on 1686 hectares, DAE sources said. More than 2.40 lakh farmers were affected as their crops in low-lying areas of Jamuna and Brahmaputra river basin went under water, said Abul Kashem, deputy director of DAE. During a recent visit to several unions, including Balijuri and Jurkhali of Maderganj upazila, this correspondent found crops on vast low-lying areas were lying damaged in floodwater. Jurkhali UP chairman Md. Alamgir said the union saw more areas of chilli cultivation this year. But most of the chilly fields got damaged as the crop remained inundated for 10-12 days. The chilli growers of the union have become frustrated as they could not earn a single furthing this year, he said. “I myself cultivated chilli on 14 bighas of land and spent Tk 3500-4000 per bigha for the purpose. If the crop were not damaged, the yield would have been 50-60 maunds per bigha and I could earn Tk 25,000-30,000 at a price of Tk 500 per maund from each bigha," the chairman added. Chilli growers Moyna, Suruj Ali and Jaglu of Kaladah village, Foyez Uddin, Amzad Mandol of Kukurmari village of Jurkhali union of the upazila echoed the same, adding that they have to count heavy loss as aman and chilli on their croplands were totally washed away. Another farmer Abdur Rashid of Kaladah village told this correspondent that he had cultivated BRRI-29 on 20 bighas of land at a cost of Tk 3,000-3,500 per bigha. "But it has been totally damaged by floodwater," he lamented. “The paddy started growing well and I hoped that 15-20 maunds of paddy could be harvested per bigha, bringing a good profit to the farmers”, Rashid said. Meanwhile, additional secretary of agriculture ministry Md. Zahir Uddin and director general of Department of Agriculture Extension Md. Abdul Latif along with local officials and UP chairmen visited the damaged croplands in Sadar, Maderganj, Melandah and Sarishabari upazilas. They directed the local agriculture officials to take appropriate steps so that the farmers can get necessary advice and supports from the office concerned, said DAE deputy director Abul Kashem.
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