Abu Yusuf, Naogaon

In Atrai, Naogaon, a village known as the grain storehouse of the northern district, vast crop fields have been flooded over the past few days due to torrential rains and landslides coming down from the upstream. Various crops, including Aman rice, planted on about 2,500 bighas of land in various unions of the upazila have been submerged under water, causing extreme losses to farmers. Local farmers say some damage could have been avoided if the rain had stopped and the water had receded quickly. However, there are currently no signs of the water receding, and it is believed that the situation could worsen if it rains again. Atrai Upazila Agriculture Officer Prosenjit Talukder said that Aman rice has been cultivated on 6,495 hectares of land in Atrai this season. Among these, many fields in Monyari, Bisha, Sahagola, Bhompara and Kalikapur unions have been flooded. As of yesterday (Tuesday), about 2,500 bighas of land, including Aman rice, were submerged in water. Describing the damage personally, Monyari Union Parishad Chairman Samrat Hossain said that he himself cultivated aman on about 90 bighas of land, all of which was submerged in water. This caused him a loss of about 6 lakh taka. Abdul Alim, a farmer from Monyari village, said, “I cultivated with barga.” This time I planted rice on 10 bighas of land. Now it’s all under water. There has been a loss of about 60 thousand taka. We demand rehabilitation from the government. Mujam, a farmer from Sahebganj, complained, “Water is not able to drain in some places because the culverts are closed.” “As a result, many farmers are facing problems, yet no one is taking any initiative about it.” Shahidul Islam, a farmer from Mirzapur village, said, “I planted rice on 5 bighas of land.” I carefully applied fertilizer and medicine, and the trees grew well. But the river water rose and everything was submerged. Meanwhile, Prabir Kumar Pal, Deputy Assistant Engineer of the Naogaon Water Development Board, said that due to continuous heavy rainfall, the water level in the rivers is increasing due to the flood water coming down from the northern upstream. By 12 noon last Saturday, water was flowing 68 centimeters below the danger level at the Atrai Railway Station point. If there is no more rain, the water will start receding within 1-2 days. And if the rain continues, the river water could cross the danger mark.