Special Correspondent, Habiganj : A sudden flash flood in Habiganj has submerged ripe Boro paddy on Almost 7,000 hectares of land. Deepak Kumar Paul, Additional Deputy Director (Horticulture) of the Department of Agricultural Extension, has expressed concern that this could lead to significant losses.
He said the affected upazilas so far are Baniachang, Ajmiriganj, Nabiganj, and Lakhai. Of the submerged land, Almost 5,630 hectares have been completely damaged, while about 1,500 hectares have been partially affected. In addition, more 4,000 hectares of ripe paddy remain at risk. If the water level rises, these fields may also go under.
This season, Boro cultivation was carried out on 123,844 hectares of land across various haors in Habiganj district. Of this, only 26,000 hectares have been harvested—around 29% on average. Even that harvested paddy is facing spoilage because continuous rain has prevented proper drying. Meanwhile, higher diesel prices are increasing the cost of threshing.
On the evening of April 29, a section of the northern embankment of the Khoai River at Shatamukha in Baniachang upazila collapsed due to strong currents. As a result, water is entering different haors in four unions. The flooded haors include Shatamukha, Purbo Billa, Andar Abda, Pachabil, Bhuttuk, Khalpar, Singarbil, Kalibari’s Dhali, Maijher Kanda, Audatail, Chandipur, Hagha and Sujatpur. Most of the land in these haors has already been submerged.