Gopalganj farmers face Tk5cr loss due to rain

Famers of Gopalganj district have incurred loss of around Tk5 crore as the early rain and storm damaged the fields of Boro paddy and other crops. Somir Kumar Goswami, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said that some 323 hectares of land where farmers were cultivating Boro paddy, watermelon and jute worth Tk5 crore were washed away in the last couple of days. “We have already sent a list of affected farmers to the higher authorities,” he said Friday. According to DAE data, Gopalganj farmers cultivated watermelon on 1,150 hectares of land, Boro on 73,500 hectares and jute on 1,249 hectares this year. Maikal Ojha, chairman of Kalabari Union Parishad of Kotalipara, said: “Pre-monsoon rain and storms have damaged all the watermelons in my union. We have to count Tk2 crore as losses for the damage.”