In order to provide employment to the agricultural workers and to implement the directives of the Prime Minister, a total 26 farm labourers from Ranishankail in Thakurgaon have been sent to Haor of Netrokona for harvesting Boro paddy.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Ranishankail Mausumi Afrida said that the farm labourers of Ranishankail area are suffering a lot as they are out of work due to the coronavirus outbreak and they were unable to travel, as transport facilities were suspended across the country.
On the other hand, farmers of Netrokona and Kishoreganj have been experiencing an extreme shortage of labour. To curb the situation, farmers from Ranishankail were sent to Netrokona on Wednesday.
Among the workers who went to Netrokona; Nurjamal and Taleb from Gogor area said, "We are already under extreme financial pressure. We were hoping for something good this year, but this virus has stopped everything.”
Nur Alam and Abu Taleb of Parkunda village said, “The government’s special initiative to curb this problem is highly appreciable. We feel blessed to assist the local farmers there to complete the harvest of their ripe Boro rice in good time.
In this regard, Deputy Director of the District Agriculture Department Altaf Hossain said, most of the workers in Thakurgaon district are agricultural workers. It will take another 20/25 days to start harvesting boro paddy in this area.
He further added, "Till date 26 farmers were sent from Ranishankail to Haor. And if farmers from any other place want to harvest paddy, we will make arrangements to transport them to Haor with support from the local police."
