The boro harvest was in full swing in the haor areas of Kishoreganj when continuous heavy rain suddenly broke the rhythm. Three days of heavy rain have left water standing in the low-lying parts of the haors. In Khayerpur-Abdullahpur union of Austagram upazila in particular, water from the Khowai river is flooding ripe paddy fields, and the farmers' golden crop is now sinking under water.

The heavy rain has flooded not only the fields but also the khola yards where paddy is dried, causing great difficulty with threshing and storage.

Aktar Faruk, senior observer at the Nikli weather office, said 90 millimetres of rain was recorded from 6am to noon on 28 April. On Monday, the day before, 20 millimetres fell in 24 hours. More rain was likely on Wednesday (29 April), he said.

Local sources said boro paddy in the low-lying parts of the district's vast haor areas is going under water in the continuous rain. In many places the water has not drained and in some places it is still rising. Austagram upazila is believed to be the worst hit. Waterlogging has also developed in the haor areas of Itna, Mithamain, Nikli, Tarail, Karimganj and Bajitpur. Rising water in the fields is hampering machine harvesting.

According to the district office of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), boro was grown on 1,68,262 hectares in Kishoreganj's 13 upazilas this season, 1,04,581 hectares of it in the haor areas. The district's rice production target this year is 7,96,686 tonnes, most of which is expected to come from the haors. So far farmers have been able to cut 50 percent of the boro paddy in the haor areas.

Phul Mia, a farmer in Khayerpur-Abdullahpur, Austagram, said: "Hundreds of acres of paddy in our area are going under water because of the heavy rain. With the water rising in many fields, the paddy cannot be cut by machine. The crop we worked so hard for is sinking before our eyes, and we are helpless."

Dr Sadikur Rahman, deputy director of the DAE in the district, said upazila agriculture officers had been told to work in the field to assess the damage, and a preliminary report would be available by the afternoon. He said water from the Khowai river had entered and submerged ripe paddy fields in Khayerpur-Abdullahpur, Austagram. Up to the previous day, about 50 percent of the paddy in the haor areas had been harvested.

Md Sajjad Hossain, executive engineer of the Kishoreganj Water Development Board, said the haor water had not yet crossed the danger level, but it was rising with the continuous rain. An advance warning had been given for farmers to cut and bring home their paddy once it was 80 percent ripe, to save it from early floods.

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