Water in Moulvibazar's haors is rising every day with continued rain, and several hundred more hectares of Boro paddy are going under. Farmers trying to save the submerged crop face a severe shortage of labourers and boats, and the prospect of heavy losses has left them at a loss.

Farmers in the haor areas complain that more than half of them have still not been able to bring their paddy home, and that no effective help has yet reached the affected areas from the administration. In Kauadighi haor in Sadar upazila, Keolar haor in Kamalganj and other areas, hundreds of hectares of ripe paddy have been under water for several days.

Zakir Mia, a farmer in Kauadighi haor, said: "I grew Boro paddy on about 5 acres and have harvested only 1 acre. The rest is under water in the haor. Thousands of farmers have lost so much, yet nobody has asked after us."

Mustakin Ahmed, a farmer in Keolar haor, said: "I spent Tk 60,000 growing Boro paddy. Now all of it has been under water for four days. It's not just me; every farmer here is in the same situation."

According to the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), 1,432 hectares of land in the district went under water, of which paddy on 941 hectares has been damaged.

Enquiries in Kauadighi haor found many farmers trying to cut submerged paddy in bad weather, but with a shortage of labourers most cannot harvest. Continued rain is raising the water, so more ripe paddy is going under. In Keolar haor in Kamalganj, several hundred hectares of ripe paddy have also been submerged for several days.

Md Jalal Uddin, deputy director of the Moulvibazar DAE, said Boro paddy on 1,432 hectares in the district had been submerged, of which 941 hectares have been damaged.

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