Super Cyclone Amphan, which smashed into the coastal districts of the country, wreaked havoc on agriculture, destroying standing crops and washing away fishes from most of the shrimp enclosures and water bodies in the coastal regions.
The severe cyclonic storm, which brought in its wake heavy rain coupled with strong wind, uprooted hundreds of trees, snapped cables and damaged hundreds of houses, bringing life to a near halt.
Thousands of trees were uprooted by its tidal surge as embankments broke down in coastal regions, inundating many villages. The damage and destruction of crops and fish farms have been huge.
State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman at meeting about the impact of super cyclone Amphan at his secretariat office said, the cyclone has caused a loss of Tk 1100 crore.
"Based on the four ministries’ information, we have come to know that, the devastating cyclone has caused severe damage to agriculture, seasonal fruits, fisheries, and others. These ministries all together estimate showed Tk 1100 crore loss incurred by the cyclone", said the minister.
Farmers are now worried about the huge losses in agriculture including Boro paddy, jute, vegetables, mango, cattle, poultry, and maize.
Lots of artificial fish firms were blown away by the high tidal surge.
In Pirojpur, seven thousand fish farms have been flooded due to the impact of Super Cyclone Amphan, which may incur a loss of Tk 400 crore.
Pirojpur District Fisheries Officer Abdul Bari said, out of 39,136 fisheries in the district, 6,755 have been inundated.
According to the District Fisheries Office, 65 fisheries in Sadar Upazila, 4,450 in Nazirpur, 235 in Mathbaria, 280 in Kaukhali, 350 in Bhandaria, 525 in Indurkani, and 65 in Nesharabad Upazila have been flooded.
According to the Department of Fisheries, 19,000 fish farms, fences and ponds have been damaged in 6 districts of Barishal division.
Deputy Director of the Barishal Divisional Office Azizul Haque said they are trying to calculate the possible loss caused by the cyclone.
In Bagerhat, the storm has washed away around 4,635 shrimp farms. District Fisheries Officer Khaled Kanak said 4,635 shrimp fishing grounds in the district were washed away by the storm. The fish farmers of the district have suffered a lot. Officially, Tk 90 lakh loss has been estimated.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim on Wednesday at an emergency meeting held at the conference room of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock through a video conference on Super Cyclone Amphan, directed the concerned officials to take all possible measures to protect the producers, farmers, and cultivators of the fisheries and livestock sector during the disaster caused by cyclone Amphan.
Around 20 percent of mangoes have fallen from the trees due to the overnight gusty wind that swept over the region caused by the cyclone Amphan in the district and its adjacent areas.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamidul Haque said the extent of mango losses caused by the natural disaster might be twenty percent here. But, the preliminary eye estimation may be some more or less, he added.
Officials said mango has been cultivated on 26,150 hectares of areas in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts where it’s expected to yield 2,44,000 tonnes of mangoes this year.
On the other hand, another seasonal mouthwatering summer fruit litchi is also damaged at Bagtipara, Lalpur, and Gurudaspur by the cyclone. Gurudaspur Upazila Agriculture Officer Abdul Karim said litchi has been cultivated on 410 hectares of land. Farmers collected litchi from 110 hectares of land while 25 percent of litchi remaining on 300 hectares of land has been destroyed.
Litchi farmers of Nazirpur Union have suffered the most. Abdul Malek, Alim Mandal, and Hitler, litchi farmers of Mamudpur village in Gurudaspur, said that almost all the litchis in their orchards had fallen in the storm and were washed away by the rain.
In Chapainawabganj, Boro paddy field is also damaged due to strong winds and rains caused by the cyclone.
