Boro crops inundated in Sunamganj as dam collapses

Boro crops on 100 acres land of Tanguar haor area in Tahirpur upazila of Sunamganj district went under water as the embankment collapsed due to the onrush of hill water on Friday, reports UNB.

The farmers of the haor area became helpless when the Erailla Kona Mondiyata dam in the upazila collapsed.

Confirming the matter, Tahirpur upazila nirbahi officer Raihan Kabir said the dam that collapsed in Tanguar haor was not established by the Water Development Board.

In the last one week, nine dams in Tahirpur, Dharmapasha, Shalla and Dirai upazilas of the district have collapsed and thousands of hectares of boro crops have gone under water.

Farmers in the haor area in Sunamganj are living in fear that they may be deprived of their boro paddy's harvest.

On 1 April, the Nazarkhali dam in Tahirpur collapsed, inundating 120 hectares of boro crops. Then eight more dams collapsed one by one.

Besides, cracks have been developed in all the small and big dams in the haor area of the district.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, deputy minister for water resources AKM Enamul Haque Shameem paid a visit to the affected areas in Derai upazila in Sunamganj where haor embankments got damaged due to onrush water.

During the visit, he said prime minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed the authorities concerned to take permanent projects to protect the haors.

Various projects are underway across the country to protect river erosion and new projects are being undertaken. Besides, permanent dams are being constructed across the country after identifying the river erosion-prone areas, he said.

Those affected by the collapse of these dams in this haor area are being assisted by the disaster management and relief ministry, he added.