In Meghalaya, India, due to heavy rain and steep slopes, the water level in rivers and haors is increasing. In this way, the crop protection dam is breaking and one after another in Sunamganj and the boro crop of Haor is sinking. In the last 24 hours, two haor dams in Tahirpur and Dirai upazilas of the district broke and water drowned the crops.
Late night on Monday, water flooded the haor by breaking the dam at Satbila switch Gate area of Huramandira Haor of Jagdal Union of Dirai Upazila of Sunamganj and Tangni Haor of Kulganj Union. Earlier in the morning, water was entering the extended Gurmar Haor of Tanguar Haor in Tahirpur Upazila. As a result, several thousand hectares of boro land in that haor is likely to be damaged.
It is learned that 18 dams of seven upazilas including Dirai, Shalla and Dharmapasha of the district have been breached and about 10,000 hectares of land has been inundated.
000As of Sunday morning, about 50,000 hectares of boro paddy had been harvested in and outside the haor of the district. A total of 34 percent paddy has been harvested. This time haor paddy has been cultivated in two lakh 22 hectares of land. The target for paddy production was 13 lakh tonnes. According to the Department of Agriculture, there are more than 500 harvesters for harvesting paddy. Meanwhile, more than 100 haor protection dams in Tahirpur, Dharmapama, Dirai, Shalla and other districts are still under threat. Cracks have appeared in many dams. However, local farmers, including the Water Development Board and the upazila administration, are continuing their efforts to protect the paddy in the haor. Bimal Chandra, deputy director of the Extension Department, said “A gurman haor broke in Tanguar Tower in Tahirpur upazila on Sunday morning.
On Monday, another haor dam broke in Dirai and water entered. We have one hundred and ten hectares of land in Tahirpur haor.”
Farmers are cutting the price of haor for some time. Farmers are cutting paddy due to inflow of water. Then the agriculture department, upazila administration is continuing to try to protect the paddy. A total of 48,000 hectares of paddy has been harvested in and outside the haor so far in the district, he said.
“We hope to be able to finish harvesting haor paddy in the next week, ten days. Six thousand hectares of crops have been damaged in 17 haors of seven upazilas of the district including Gurman Haor,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Md Jahangir Hossain said, water is flowing in the haor on the slope of the hill. There is a danger of any dam breaking and haor sinking at any time. Our upazila administration, Paubo, people's representatives are all in the field. Therefore, he urged everyone including the public to guard the dam to protect the haor in the next 24 hoursh, he added.