UNB, Bhola: Incessant rains for the past seven days spawned by the active monsoon has caused severe waterlogging across various parts of Bhola, disrupting the normal life of people.
Besides, vast tracts of land of Aman seedbeds have been damaged and fish from numerous ponds and enclosures have been washed away during the rainfall, incurring huge financial losses to the farmers.
Due to inclement weather, triggered by the depression in Bay of Bengal, Bhola has experienced persistent heavy rainfall throughout the past week.
Md Moniruzzaman, an official of Bhola Meteorological Office, said the Met office has recorded 397.2 mm of rainfall in the past seven days, including 91.3 mm in the last 24 hours until 6am on Thursday.
Besides, the low-lying areas of the district have been inundated, creating immense hardship for the residents.
Eight villages of Monpura upazila have been submerged, leaving several thousand people stranded.
Besides, a number of areas including Ishwarganj, Daserhat, North Sakuchia and Rahmanpur in Monpura have been particularly affected with extensive damage to fish enclosures, livestock, and Aman seedbeds.
Local people said tidal waters coupled with nonstop rain have inundated farmlands in Madanpur of Daulatkhan upazila and Kachia Majher Char in Sadar upazila of the district.
Farmers are unable to transplant seedlings despite preparing the fields.
Nasir Uddin Shikdar from Tobgi area of Madanpur said they have been stranded for the last several days.
“We can’t take out our cattle or poultry and there’s no way to cut grass from the submerged fields,” he said.
Shafik Majhi from Char Padma added, “Life has come to a standstill. We can’t move due to the non-stop rain.”
Farmers from different unions, including Md Mohsin of Char Kali and Ruhul Amin Miji of Rajapur, said their Aman seedbeds are submerged and they are unable to irrigate the fields.
Mosalha Uddin Majhi from Kolatoli said roads and fields are underwater. “We have no work. We're running our households on loans,” he added.
Md Khairul Islam Mallik, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Bhola, said a total of 500 to 600 hectares of Aman seedbeds and around 700 hectares of summer vegetables are feared to be affected. "We’ll get a clearer picture once the water recedes," he said.
Biswajit Kumar Deb, Bhola District fisheries Officer, said about 250 hectares of fish enclosures and 400 hectares of ponds have been flooded.
“Preliminary estimates suggest losses of at least Tk 11 crore, including Tk 8.5 crore worth of fish washed away and Tk 2.5 crore in infrastructural damage,” he said.
Meanwhile, passenger vessel movement on 10 inland water routes, including Bhola-Lakshmipur, Monpura-Dhaka and Hatiya-Dhaka, remained suspended for the seventh consecutive day due to the inclement weather.
Md Jasim Uddin, Transport Inspector at Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said the suspension of launch and sea truck services has caused immense suffering to commuters.
However, ferry operations on the Bhola-Ilisha route remain normal.
