Hail with gusty wind has caused heavy damage to tin-roofed houses and Aus paddy in Lalmonirhat. Rain with light wind and hail fell in various parts of the district.

Large hailstones fell for about 15 minutes on Friday night (21 April) in the Kulaghat area of Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.

In the Shiberkuti area of Kulaghat union, the hail punched holes in several old tin houses, and half-ripe Aus paddy was badly damaged, leaving farmers dismayed.

Riju Mia of Shiberkuti told Jagonews: "The large hailstones have made holes in my tin house. How will I live in it with my family now?" Arpan Ali of the same area said: "The tin roof of the house where I live with my elderly mother has been holed, and the rain has soaked the bedding. Eid is on Saturday. I don't know what we will do if it rains on Eid day."

Shariful Islam, a farmer from the Ghughutari area, said: "I sharecropped 15 bighas of land to grow Aus paddy, and it was time to bring the crop home. Just then the hail flattened all the paddy plants to the ground. Now I don't know how I will repay the loan."

Lokman Hakim, the Union Parishad member for Shiberkuti, said the night's hail had done a lot of damage to the paddy, with many plants flattened.

Hamidur Rahman, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Lalmonirhat, could not be reached for comment; his phone was found switched off after several calls.

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