Sharecroppers left in despair as rice worth Tk 200 crore submerged in haors

Farmers in Sunamganj are facing utter devastation as their crops have been submerged in the haors. Many are now desperately trying to salvage rotten rice that has sunk underwater, while others are unable to harvest the crop or dry the sprouted grains.

Sharecroppers are in the most precarious position. They are deeply worried about fulfilling their contractual obligations to deliver rice to the landowners, repaying the loans taken for cultivation, and ensuring the survival of their families for the rest of the year. Despite the scale of this disaster across the haor regions, the Agriculture Department has stated that 50,000 tonnes of rice have been damaged.

On Thursday morning, while visiting the Guachura area of the haor, workers were seen cutting rice while standing in water amid strong winds. All of them were wrapped in polythene from head to waist for protection. Farmer Roysh Mia stood a short distance away with visible worry etched on his face and in his eyes. He pointed towards his fields where the rice plants were floating in waist-deep water.

He said he had cultivated this season after borrowing Tk 150,000. Now he has three major concerns: paying the owner’s share of paddy as per the agreement, clearing the cultivation loan, and managing to feed his family throughout the year.

Aged farmer Qamar Ali broke down in tears and said, “How can we with children with this situation?”

In the midst of this crisis in the haor, the Agriculture Department reported that 9,049 hectares of cropland had been damaged until Wednesday afternoon. This equates to a loss of 50,000 tonnes of paddy, valued at nearly Tk 200 crore.

Executive Engineer of the Water Development Board, Mamun Hawlader, explained that river water levels have risen due to inflows from upstream. He added that it would take at least a week for the water in the haor to recede.

Continuous rainfall over the past four days, combined with upstream water flow, has submerged the ripe paddy in various haors of Jagannathpur in Sunamganj. This has triggered widespread mourning among farmers across the region.

Farmer Sarada Charan Das from Dasnowagaon village in Naluar Haor said he had cultivated 16 kedars of land but could only harvest the crop from a single kedar. The rest of his fields were inundated due to continuous rains over the last two days. Despite his best efforts, a shortage of agricultural labourers prevented him from bringing the crop home.

In a tearful voice, he said, “Everything is over for me. My family depends entirely on the Boro crop. I cultivated this land on loan. Now I do not know how we will survive the whole year.”

Former Chilaura Haldipur Union Parishad member Randhir Das Nantu stated that farmers had been unable to harvest crops from most of the land in Naluar Haor. They had already been struggling with waterlogging and labour shortages. The continuous rains of the past two days have now submerged all low-lying areas. He estimated that at least 1,500 to 2,000 hectares of crops had been lost.

Farmers from Naluar Haor, including Ekhlas Mia, Madhu Mia, Gaurang Das, and Harindra Das, reported that their crops were submerged due to heavy rainfall, as there was no proper drainage system in place. They lamented that the crop protection dam in the haor, meant to safeguard the fields, has now become a death trap.

Meanwhile, heavy rains have also submerged semi-ripe paddy in several other haors of the upazila, including Moiya and Pingla haors in Jagannathpur.

Jagannathpur Upazila Agriculture Officer Kawsar Ahmed said that paddy harvesting had been completed on 50 percent of the land in Naluar Haor. Due to waterlogging and labour shortages, many farmers were rushing to harvest whatever they could. However, the continuous rains were causing further damage. He noted that efforts were underway to harvest paddy using boats. This year, Boro rice has been cultivated on 20,400 hectares of land in Jagannathpur Upazila.