WATER LOGGING IN MUNSHIGANJ
Water has remained stagnant on the agriculture land at Jainsar, Uttar Chain Parha, Dakkhin Chain Parha, Bhatingbhog, Bhobanipur, Batraishar, Koroitola and Sujanagar in Sirajdikhan upazila
Farmers are in fear that water stagnation may hamper the cultivation of Rabi crops, including potato, on 20,000 hectares of land at Sirajdikhan and Louhajang upazilas in Munshiganj.
They said the canals linked to agriculture lands have been filled up with sands or silt and so water cannot be removed from agriculture lands.
They also blamed unplanned residency in the district. People have been fast erecting their residential buildings on agriculture lands in the district since the multipurpose bridge was proposed over the Padma river.
Farmer Sunil Sarker, a resident from Nagerhat village in Bikrampur upazila’s, said cultivation has become uncertain in many areas in the upazila because of water getting stagnant there.
He also said he grows potatoes on around four acres of land every year. However it would not be possible for him this year due to shortage of better variety of potato seeds.
Farmer Sunil said he could not even collect better variety of potato seeds from local dealers.
Water has remained stagnant on the agriculture land at Jainsar, Uttar Chain Parha, Dakkhin Chain Parha, Bhatingbhog, Bhobanipur, Batraishar, Koroitola and Sujanagar in Sirajdikhan upazila.
Farmers from the areas said they were at a loss to understand what they should do at this time as they themselves cannot drain water out of their land nor are the authorities yet to take any effective step about this.
Louhajang Upazila Agriculture Extension Officer Md Shafiqul Hasan said water had got stagnant on the agriculture lands because five canals, including Baligaon-Ghordaur canal, Atigaon-Morshdgaon canal, have been silted up and filled up with sand.
Agriculture did not get hampered last year and nor would it happen this year. The agriculture lands have just been water logged this time since it rained a few times towards the end of the season, he said.
Agriculture officer Shafiq said he had already contacted the authorities about this and steps would soon be taken up about this and so farmers would not face any trouble growing crops on the fields in the end.
Sirajdikhan Upazila Agriculture Extension acting officer some lands are low and the others are high. Water disappear from the bil areas towards the end of Agrahayan month or the start of Paush month.
Echoing the Louhajang agriculture official, he said this did not create any trouble in crop cultivation last season and nor would it do so this season if water went away from crop lands in time.
dhakatribune