Paddy harvesting has begun in Sunamganj, where farmers have already cut and brought home paddy from 28,000 hectares. But on the afternoon of Tuesday, 21 April, the Sunamganj Water Development Board issued a notice urging farmers to harvest the haor paddy quickly.

The notice said that, according to the Meteorological Department and the Water Development Board, all rivers in the north-east, especially those flowing through Sunamganj district including the Surma, Kushiyara and Boulai, are rising. The district's rivers are likely to rise quickly over the next few days, and an early flood could occur at any time. Rain inside the haors could also cause waterlogging in relatively low-lying areas. To limit damage to the Boro crop, farmers have been asked to cut and bring home paddy as soon as 80 per cent of it ripens.

Mamun Howlader, executive engineer of the Sunamganj Water Development Board, said the district's rivers have started to rise, and if it rains in the hills upstream, the Surma and all other rivers will rise quickly.

Omar Faruk, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Sunamganj district, said Boro paddy was grown on 223,500 hectares in the district this year. Farmers have already brought home paddy from 28,000 hectares, and bringing in the rest will take more time.

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