Cropland continues to be inundated and damaged as the flood situation in the country’s north and north-west deteriorates.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) estimates that around 250,000 hectares of cropland has been inundated in this year’s flooding.
Most of the damage has been done to the fields of Aman paddy, the country’s major cereal crop, which has little chance of recovery because the planting season is nearly over, Chaitnya Kumar Das, deputy director of the DAE, said.
He said more areas in four northern districts – Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur and Bogra – were under water as of yesterday and would further contribute to crop damage.
The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) said the flood situation in parts of Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra and Sirajganj districts in the north-west and Manikganj, Rajbari, Munshiganj and Shariatpur districts in the central region of the country would likely deteriorate further over the next 48 hours.
FFWC Forecasting Officer Sarder Udoy Raihan told the Dhaka Tribune that the Brahmaputra and Jamuna Rivers were still showing a rising trend which would likely abate after 72 hours.
He said the Teesta, Dharla and Brahmaputra rivers began falling at a very slow pace yesterday evening.
The inhabitants of the region, in addition to losing their crops, have seen their houses and schools go under water and have lost land to riverbank erosion.
The FFWC said the Ganges is on a falling trend that is likely to continue over the next 96 hours. Padma, the other major river in the country, is likely to rise slightly over the next 48 hours.
The rivers in the north-east of the country are on a falling trend and will continue to fall over the next 48 hours, improving the flood situation in the region.
As of yesterday, 23 river stations on the Dharla, Ghagot, Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Karotoa, Surma and Kushiyara rivers recorded flows above the danger level.
The rivers in and around Dhaka city will likely rise over the next 72 hours but are also likely to remain below danger levels, the FFWC said.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, rainfall across the country will decrease significantly over the next three days as the monsoon recedes for this season.
Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department yesterday withdrew a heavy rainfall warning for Bangladesh’s upstream neighbours, the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya, which it had issued several days ago.
The FFWC forecasting officer said it would likely take several more days for the country’s flood situation to improve.
