Due to continuous rains throughout the day under the influence of Cyclone Midhili, there has been extensive damage to ripe paddy and winter vegetables in several coastal districts of the country.
In Moulvibazar, hundreds of Aman fields were damaged by the cyclone, which will have a severe consequence in the lives of the rural people, say experts.
Heavy rains since Friday morning and till Saturday night have also caused damage to winter vegetables and seeds.
According to the district agriculture office, farmers cultivating vegetables such as cauliflowers, cabbages, red vegetables, beans, coriander leaves and tomatoes have suffered huge losses.
In Patuakhali, farmers have cultivated Aman on over 191,000 hectares of land this season. Of this, a vast area has been damaged by the cyclone, according to the district agriculture office.
Crops were also reportedly damaged in Pirojpur, Jhalakathi and Bagerhat.
In Satkhira, fish worth Tk1 crore, kept under the open sky for drying, at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans were damaged in the incessant rain triggered by the cyclone.
Kamal Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Dubla Fishermen’s Group, said 60,000 quintals of fish have been damaged.
Harun-or-Rashid, officer of Bagerhat-Mongla Weather Observatory Centre, said the Met office recorded 91mm of rainfall in 24 hours, from 6pm Thursday till 6pm on Friday, in Bagerhat.
A total of 10,000 fishermen from the coastal areas gathered at Dublar Char, popularly known as “Shutki Polli” or Dried Fish Village, as the dried fish processing season got underway on November 3.
Every year, several thousand fishermen and hired hands flock to the area to catch fish and make shutki (dried fish) in Shelar Char, Narikelbaria, Majherkella and Alorkol of Sharankhola range in the east zone of the Sundarbans.
The dried fish processing will continue till March next year.
Dublar Char experienced intermittent rainfall for the past couple of days due to the depression in the Bay of Bengal.
Frustration gripped the fishermen at Dublar Char as fish worth Tk1 crore were damaged by the rains.
Khalilur Rahman, in-charge of Dublar Char forest camp, said the authorities concerned had informed the fishermen about the inclement weather through loudspeaker announcements.
The stench of rotten fish is prevailing in the area, affecting the environment and health of the fishermen and others living on the char, he said.
Muhammad Nurul Karim, divisional forest officer of Sundarbans East Zone, said the extent of the losses caused by the rain could not be ascertained yet.
The periphery of the cyclonic storm Midhili crossed the Mongla-Payra coast near Khepupara as of Friday noon, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
Cyclone Midhili completed crossing the coast by the evening, it said.
18 fishermen rescued
Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) rescued 18 fishermen from deep sea off Cox's Bazar.
The fishermen were adrift on a trawler, named FB Mayer Doa, in the deep sea after its engine gave out in the aftermath of Cyclone Midhili making landfall on Friday, said Lieutenant Commander Khandaker Munif Taki, media officer of the BCG Headquarters on Saturday.
He said that the Mayer Doa went to the deep sea from Majhir Ghat in Tekpara area of Cox's Bazar for fishing on November 14. At one stage, the engine of the fishing boat broke down due to the adverse weather of Cyclone Midhili.
The Coast Guard conducted "Operation Samudra Prahara" under the command of Captain Noor Mohammad Tariq Aziz, the captain of Coast Guard ship Mansoor Ali, in rough seas and rescued the fishermen.
Our Moulvibazar correspondent Saiful Islam contributed to this report