Continuous rainfall and the breach of an embankment have resulted in an estimated Tk700 crore worth of damage to Satkhira’s fisheries and agricultural sectors.
Fields of Aman, Aush paddy, and various vegetables have been submerged, while 6,000 fish enclosures and 1,500 ponds were swept away.
Heavy rains over four days last week caused the embankment of the Bhetna River to break near a graveyard in Satkhira Sadar upazila, flooding at least 50 villages in three unions across two upazilas.
As of Wednesday, the Water Development Board had yet to repair the breached embankment, and water continues to flood the area.
Villages such as Binerpota, Khejurdanga, Gopinathpur, Taltala, and others remain waterlogged. Many residents have been forced to abandon their homes due to rising waters.
Additionally, rainwater drainage issues have exacerbated flooding in 30 villages in Puraton Satkhira area, including Ghuterdangi, Ramchandrapur, Labongola, Patharghata, and several municipal areas, affecting 20-25 thousand families.
Kamruzzaman, a fish farmer from Taltala village, said that his three enclosures, spanning 120 bighas, were completely submerged, causing him a loss of around Tk1.5 crore.
Md Azharul Islam, a farmer from Agardari Union, said he planted rice on eight bighas, of which six bighas are now underwater. He had invested over Tk100,000, but with the ongoing rain, his crops are beginning to rot, and continued rainfall could destroy them entirely.
Md Saiful Islam, deputy director of Satkhira’s Agricultural Extension Department, said 5,452 hectares of land have been affected due to the excessive rain during the Aman season. Of this, 149 hectares of crops have been destroyed, with estimated losses exceeding Tk9 crore..
Satkhira District Fisheries Officer Md Anisur Rahman said excessive rain, especially in Shyamnagar and Satkhira Sadar, caused parts of the Bhetna River embankment to collapse, flooding nearby fish enclosures.
