Various types of vegetables including Aman paddy, the dream crop of Teestapar farmers, have been submerged in the flood water at Lalmonirhat.
It is known that the lion’s share of the economy of Lalmonirhat, a district bordering India, comes from agriculture.
Most of the families in the district are directly involved in agriculture. Teesta and Dharla rivers flow over 5 upazilas of Lalmonirhat district surrounded by Teesta Dharla and Saniajan rivers.
Paddy, maize, jute and various types of vegetables are among the cultivated crops of the district. Aman rice is the dream crop of the farmers of the district due to its low cost of cultivation.
Aman paddy has been cultivated over a wide area in 5 upazilas of Lalmonirhat district on the left bank of Teesta river. Aman paddy, the farmer’s dream crop, has been drowned by floods and heavy rains since its middle age.
If the flow of water in the Teesta river decreases, the water in the river also decreases. But the water entering the Aman fields during floods is coming down very slowly due to lack of adequate drainage system. As a result, even if the water in the house goes down, the water in the Aman field does not go down. As a result, the field crops are submerged in water for 5/6 consecutive days. Farmer’s dream crop is rotting due to prolonged immersion in water. Most of the Aman fields in the district are still submerged under water. Although the flood situation has improved since last 2 days.
Bulbul Ahmed, a farmer of Gobardhan village said, not only my Aman field, but all the fields of the entire area have been submerged for 6 days today. The fields are filled with debris and garbage from the flood. When the water subsides, the debris can be removed. But in the meantime, Aman rice plants are rotting. Every year 14/15 maunds of paddy is produced on every 27 percent of land. There is no irrigation cost in Aman cultivation. So even if the yield is low, there is a good profit. However, this time the cost of production is not far off and rice will not be enough to eat rice at home.
Farmer Dollar of Balapara village said that not only the flood water, but also the rain water in the vast area of ​​Aman paddy fields. Drainage system is very less in these areas. Therefore, even if the water in the river decreases, these waters are coming down at a very slow speed. As a result, Aman paddy is rotting.
Hamidur Rahman, Deputy Director of Lalmonirhat District Agricultural Extension Department, said that the crop of 940 hectares of land in the district was damaged in the last flood. Out of which 20 hectares are vegetables and the rest are saplings. There is no opportunity to replant aman in damaged fields. Therefore, farmers are being encouraged to cultivate vegetables including maize in advance in these lands.
He also said that the fields are submerged due to lack of drainage in those areas. Agricultural officers are investigating those areas and taking measures to assist the local administration. Action will also be taken by mobile courts if anyone blocks the waterways for harvesting fish.
