Miscreants have cut down more than 100 fruiting bottle gourd plants on one bigha of land belonging to a physically disabled farmer in Shailkupa, Jhenaidah, under cover of darkness. The farmer, facing a possible loss of several lakh taka, is at his wits' end.

The incident happened on the night of Wednesday, 15 July, in a crop field in Gokulnagar Uttarpara village of the upazila.

The farmer is Alamgir Hossain, who is physically disabled.

Alamgir Hossain said he planted more than 100 gourd plants on one bigha two months ago, and the plants started bearing a month later. He had sold gourds worth about Tk 50,000 in the past 24 days. Then, on the night in question, someone cut down the fruiting plants, leaving him with a heavy loss. After learning of the incident, a team from Tamaltala police camp of Shailkupa police station visited the site.

Local resident Harun-or-Rashid Helal said: "How can people harm a farmer's crop? This is a very inhuman act. Enmity against crops is like killing living things. We demand that those responsible are quickly identified and punished."

The farmer said: "There were several hundred gourd plants in the field, and they had borne several thousand gourds. I sold gourds worth about Tk 60,000 in the past three weeks. Someone cut down all my plants out of enmity. One of my hands does not work. How will I support my family? I want justice."

ASI Shaminur Rahman of Tamaltala police camp in Shailkupa upazila said they visited the site after hearing that the gourd plants had been cut, and spoke with the farmer and neighbouring farmers. An investigation has begun and police are working to identify those involved.

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