Various crops of 18,483 hectares of land and some 1139 mud houses in Dakop, Koyra and Paikgacha have been affected in Khulna the cyclonic storm Sitrang ravaged the area.
Among the croplands, around 17,942 hectares were paddy-land. Among the damaged houses, 582 were in Dakop, 350 were in Koyra and 207 were in Paikgacha upazila, various sources confirmed.
This year, various crops were cultivated in around 95,953 hectares of land in Khulna. However, the damage was minimum. “The crops were mildly affected. All the crops can be saved from damage if taken care of,” said MD Hafizur Rahman, deputy director of Khulna Agricultural Extension Department.
According to the sources of Khulna Agricultural Extension Department, out of 93,185 hectares of paddy land, 17,942 hectares have been affected by Sitrang. Besides, 293 hectares of vegetable land out of 970 hectares, 134 hectares of banana land out of 537 hectares, 95 hectares of papaya land out of 375 hectares, 5 hectares of betel land out of 858 hectares, 6 hectares of chilli land out of 20 hectares have been affected. In addition, one hectare of coriander, 4 hectares of musk and 3 hectares of mustard have been affected.
There was no damage to the Sundarbans due to Sitrang, informed Sundarban West Division Forest Officer Dr Abu Naser Mohsin. “Some ponds inside the forest and roads of the forest department's outpost and office were inundated, but no major damage happened to the Sundarbans,” he said.
Meanwhile, 53,719 people from Dakop, Paikgachan and Koyra upazila, who took shelters in different shelter houses, returned to their home in the morning, according to various sources.
Dakop Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mintu Biswas said that 41,782 people took shelter in 118 shelter centres in Dakop. All of them went to their homes in the morning. “582 mud houses were partially damaged in the cyclone. Trees have fallen in some areas which have been removed already. Slight crack has been seen in the embankment and it has been collapsed slightly,” said he.
“8,500 people in Koyra took shelter in 118 shelter centres and all of them returned to their home on Tuesday morning. 350 mud houses have been partially damaged. Several trees have fallen in South Bedkashi and Amadi union,” said Koyra Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Rokunuzzaman.
Chairman of Koyra Upazila Parishad SM Shafiqul Islam said that an embankment collapsed in Harinkhola on Monday morning but it has been repaired with the help of volunteers. “However, there were no damage to the embankment since,” added he.
Paikgacha Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mumtaz Begum said that 207 mud houses were partly damaged due to the cyclone. Around 3500 people took shelter and all of them returned to their respective home.
The cyclonic storm Sitrang hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh on Monday evening triggering gale winds and rainfall in the southern parts of the country.
Most parts of the country, including Dhaka, witnessed moderate to heavy rains from Sunday morning under the impact of the cyclonic storm.
