Flash floods inundate Moulvibazar Boro farmers' hopes

More than 1,400 hectares of Boro paddy fields have been flooded in Moulvibazar during the latest spell of flash floods triggered by torrential rain. Agricultural officials and farmers fear losing the crop if the situation persists while traders say poor Boro harvest will push rice prices further. Boro planted on 823 hectares in Kauadighi haor – which falls under the Rajnagar and sadar upazilas – have been inundated during the latest spell of flood. Most paddy fields in this haor had gone under water last month following excessive rain. The last flood had destroyed 850 hectares of paddy and partially damaged crops in over 1,100 hectares in Rajnagar. Farmers from the sadar upazila lost Boro paddy in 250 hectares while crops in another 700 hectares were damaged. Farmers who planted paddy in Sreemongol's Hail haor also face uncertainties as 620 hectares of Boro fields have been flooded this time. The flood in March had damaged crops in 150 acres and partially destroyed paddy in 1,047 hectares. The agricultural office is yet to asses the damage. The government on Sunday announced providing relief material to some 300,000 flood-affected families in haor region. Bangladesh depends heavily on Boro production. Last year, the country produced 35 million tonnes of rice – 19 million tonnes of it was Boro. Moulvibazar Water Development Board's Executive Engineer Anisur Rahman said torrential rains had contributed to unexpected rise in water level. “The water of Kushiara River is flowing at least six-feet above the haor,” he said. Agricultural office said incessant rain over the last several days and water streaming down from the hills inundated the Kauadighi and Hail haors. Farmers managed to harvest paddy from parts of the haors that had submerged in the early April flooding and resurfaced after water receded. The agricultural office considered the harvest a partial loss. Moulvibazar sadar upazila Agricultural Officer Subrata Kanti Dutta claimed the latest flood had inundated just over 1,400 hectares of paddy fields in the two haors. In the district's Hakaluki Haor, flash floods damaged nearly 17,000 hectares of paddy fields, affecting about 26,000 farmers and costing them an estimated Tk95 crore, agricultural officials said. Farmers say government estimates are way off the mark.