Jhenaidah farmers suffer losses worth Tk 88.89 crore

JHENAIDAH, May 30: Farmers of Jhenaidah district have been counting huge losses as standing Boro paddy, vegetables, banana, beetle leaf on vast tracts of land were badly damaged by cyclone Amphan that battered the country's coastal districts on May 20.
According to the District Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), a total of 2.27 lakh farmers of six upazilas of the district are counting a huge losses as the cyclone devastated bananas on 1500 hectares of land, vegetable on 1025 hectares, pulses on 1950 hectares, Chili on 750 hectares, Boro paddy on 100 hectares, betel leaf on 1500 hectares, mangoes on 2,875 hectares and litchi on 418 hectares.
The farmers are facing losses worth Tk 88.89 crore, said the DAE sources.
However, a number of houses were damaged, several trees were uprooted and many ponds were washed away during the storm.
Rashedul Islam, a farmer of Bhabanipur village in Harinakundu upazila, said, "I have lost by beetle leaf on 1.5 bighas of land worth Tk 2.5 lakh. Now I will have to spend Tk one lakh more for repairing my garden."Quader Mia, a banana farmer of Halidhani village in Sadar upazila, said "I brought 2.5 bighas of land under banana cultivation and all the bananas got matured and I was supposed to harvest in a few days but now all have been damaged."
Shamim Hossain, another farmer of Natima village in Maheshpur upazila, said that his fish enclosures were washed away while bananas on 10 bighas of land were damaged by the storm.
Zaminur Rahman Bipul, chairman of Phulhari union in Shailakupa upazila said government assistance can help the so farmers to recoup their losses.
Kripangshu Shekhar Biswas, deputy director of Jhenaidah DAE, said, "A list of the affected farmers was prepared and the farmers have been advised for marketing of their produces."
Cyclone 'Amphan' left a trail of devastation when it hit Bangladesh's coastal districts with wind speed of up to 180kph and over 10 feet tidal surges on May 20.
It killed 10 people and inflicted heavy damage to lives, livelihood, agriculture, infrastructures, environment, as well as the largest mangrove forest in the world, the Sundarbans, in southwestern region of the country.
An initial estimate suggested that the damage caused by the cyclone runs into hundreds of crores of taka.