Thunderstorms cause new panic in haors

The whole dream has ended in a blink as a farmer named Mohammad Helal (38) died during paddy harvesting in Kishoreganj due to thunderstorms. Panic gripped in haors as this incident happening frequently.

Another danger there from April to June, lightning strikes occur frequently in the haors of Kishoreganj, Sunamganj, Habiganj and Netrokona . And most of the deaths in these lightning strikes are on farmers and fishermen working in the haors. Now, lightning strikes have added a new fear to the minds of the haor people.

Paddy is being harvested, paddy is being threshed, the work of making a plough is going on. Of course, most of the paddy in the haors has not ripened yet. These works are being done while fighting against natural disasters. So this time, farmers are more worried than happy in Boishakh.

Although the Boro paddy will be fully ripe within the next week, the concern is whether that paddy can be safely brought home. Due to the impact of the current Boro season’s climate, initially there was no rain, then untimely heavy rains caused waterlogging in the haors, and then due to the diesel crisis, the movement of paddy harvester machines was disrupted. Meanwhile, the authorities have now stopped the extraction of sand and stone in various places in Kishoreganj, Netrokhona and Sunamganj to resolve this situation.

Meanwhile, life in the haor is largely paralyzed due to lightning. The issue of wasting crores of taka to prevent lightning is being discussed.

The concerned do not even keep track of whether the installed lightning rods are working or not. Each family is helpless after losing an able-bodied person in a lightning strike.

A study by five Bangladeshi researchers published in 2024 on the lightning situation in Bangladesh shows that the highest number of deaths due to lightning, that is, 121 people, occurred in Sunamganj during 2015-2022.

Of them are women and children and adolescents. Many lightning widows like Kharatun are living a miserable life after losing the earning member of their family due to lightning in the haor region. Farmers have to go to harvest rice in the vast open spaces of the haor, fishermen have to go to catch fish.
During lightning strikes, they have to stay under the open sky.