About 6,000 bighas of farmland in 13 mouzas of Ullapara and Tarash upazilas in Sirajganj cannot be cultivated because of waterlogging. Farmers blame unplanned pond digging and blocked bridge and culvert openings, which leave knee- to waist-deep water standing on land that once produced three crops a year.
At Agarpur village in Tarash, the beel was drained a few years ago and several culverts were closed off so that ponds could be used for fish farming. At least 200 bighas of the village's low-lying land have been permanently waterlogged since, with water standing all year. Villagers have petitioned the administration and protested repeatedly without a solution.
Agarpur farmers Nazrul Sheikh and Habibur Rahman said the land grew three crops regularly until a few years ago and cultivation has now stopped entirely, leaving their families in hardship.
The picture is the same in Ramkrishnapur union of Ullapara, where hundreds of ponds have been cut into triple-crop land for fish farming. Several bridges, culverts and drains along both sides of the Hatikumrul-Bonpara highway have been blocked, so water cannot drain from the low fields.
Naujes Ali, a member of the Ramkrishnapur union parishad, acknowledged the farmers' hardship. He said the matter had been reported to higher authorities and he hoped drainage would soon be arranged through a special project.
Tarash upazila agriculture officer Sharmistha Sen Gupta and Ullapara upazila agriculture officer Subarna Yasmin Sumi said the upazila administration had been informed so that cultivation of the triple-crop land could be secured, and that action would be taken quickly. The report is by Krishi Shomoy's Sirajganj correspondent.
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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