Hailstorms damage boro crops in Habiganj

Hailstorms and strong winds over the past three days have damaged Boro crops in 13 unions across four upazilas of Habiganj, agriculture officials said.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), hailstorms accompanied by strong winds hit the district on the nights of April 14, 15 and 16, causing widespread crop damage.

Abdul Mannan, a farmer from Uttar Gorang village under Shanbila union, said the storm that struck between 10:30pm and 11pm on April 15 destroyed nearly half of his paddy on one and a half bighas of land.

He added that large areas of Boro fields in villages including Gorangi Dighirpar, Mohimabad, Lalchan, Shanbila and nearby Devanhata union were also severely affected.

Officials said the district had set a target to cultivate Boro paddy on 123,848 hectares of land across nine upazilas this season. So far, 123,644 hectares have been brought under cultivation.

They further noted that excessive rainfall has caused waterlogging in some areas, submerging around 281 hectares of Boro fields.

The affected unions include Badalpur in Ajmiriganj upazila; Pukra, Lakhai, Subidpur and North-East Union No. 1 in Baniachong upazila; Lukra, Richi, Nijampur, Laskarpur, Gopaya and Poil in Sadar upazila; and Shanbila and Devanhata in Chunarughat upazila.

Preliminary estimates show that about 15 hectares of Boro fields in Ajmiriganj, 30 hectares in Baniachong, 90 hectares in Sadar and 11 hectares in Chunarughat upazila were affected.

In addition, around 8 hectares of seasonal vegetable crops in Chunarughat were also damaged.