Miscreants have picked at least 400 maunds of boroi (jujube) from three and a half acres belonging to a farmer named Dalil Uddin Khan, 60, in Gosairhat, Shariatpur. He claims a loss of about Tk 10 lakh, and filed a written complaint with Gosairhat police station on the morning of Thursday, 15 February.

According to local and police sources, Dalil Uddin Khan of Chhoto Kalinagar in Nagerpara union has for two years, with his four sons, leased about three and a half acres in the Holoipatti area to grow Balsundar, Apple and Thai varieties of boroi. With proper care the orchard gave a large yield this year. He had already sold Tk 10 lakh worth of boroi, and expected to sell about Tk 10 lakh more in the coming days.

He recently quarrelled with Faruk Sardar, who lives next to the orchard, and on Sunday Faruk Sardar filed a case against Dalil Uddin, his four sons and nine people in all. Fearing arrest, they were all in hiding from Monday until Wednesday night. Taking the chance, miscreants over two nights stripped about 400 maunds of boroi and malta from the orchard and broke some trees.

Having set up the orchard with credit from fertiliser and pesticide companies, the grower fears being crushed by debt.

Dalil Uddin Khan said: "I sold land and took loans to build this orchard bit by bit with my four sons. After seeing a profit in the first year, I expanded it this year. By the grace of Allah the yield was very good. But a gang out of enmity has looted all my fruit and ruined me. I want the culprits punished."

His eldest son Solaiman Khan said: "We built this orchard bit by bit by borrowing from relatives, taking loans from various NGOs and buying on credit at the pesticide shop. In just two nights miscreants looted 400 to 500 maunds of boroi and malta from our orchard. How will we make up this loss? I want justice from the administration."

Gosairhat upazila agriculture officer Motaleb Hossain said Solaiman had planted Balsundar, Bharatsundar and Apple kul boroi and malta on three and a half acres in the Huloypatti area, with about 1,500 boroi trees. The yield this year was very good, but he learned that over the past two nights some miscreants had looted boroi from the orchard.

Gosairhat police station officer-in-charge Pushpen Debnath said they had received a written complaint and an investigation was under way. Anyone who committed a crime would be brought to justice, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.