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6 FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2017 DT News Fishing banned in Haor areas as piscine disease spreads • Saiful Islam, Moulvibazar and Himadri Shekor Vodro, Sunamganj The government yesterday declared a week-long ban on fishing in the Haor areas of Sunamganj as diseases started killing fishes in the aftermath of the recent flash flood. After ducks and ducklings, the farmers in Sunamganj Haor areas reported deaths of fishes since last week. Authorities claim that the deaths of fishes have decreased in the past two days. On the other hand, locals are suffering from water-borne diseases due to pollution. According to the district fisheries office, 44 tonnes fishes worth Tk44 lakh have died in 20 marshlands of 11 upazilas in the past few days. The most affected areas are Dharmapasha, Jamalganj, Jagannathpur and Dirai. Total loss from the flood in Sunamganj has been estimated by the government at Tk105.19 crore. Deaths of fishes have also been reported from different areas of Moulvibazar district including the Hakaluki Haor where the local authorities have already taken necessary initiatives. Fishes started dying in the Haor since April 16 as the paddy continued to decompose and polluted the water. People in the areas experienced such a catastrophe during the devastating flood of 1988. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) yesterday announced that around 10,276 hectares of paddy fields were completely damaged in Moulvibazar, causing the farmers a loss of around Tk120.76 crore. “Some 4,000kgs of lime powder have been sprayed in different areas of the Haor in a bid to cleaning the water and preventing death of fishes,” Borolekha Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) SM Abdullah Al Mamun told the Dhaka Tribune. “We also made announcements through loudspeakers urging all not to catch or consume fishes from the marshland for the next four or five days,” the UNO added. “Using the contaminated Haor water can lead to Diarrhoea, jaundice and dermatitis,” said Satyakam Chakraborty, civil surgeon of Moulvibazar. According to the fisheries office, some 5,920 tonnes of fishes are being produced every year in 184 marshlands in Kulaura, Juri and Borolekha. Ammonia and hydrogen sulphide gas, formed due to the rotten paddy, led to the death of fishes, said local fisheries officials Sultan Mahmud and Abdus Shakur. The normal range for pH in surface water systems is 6.5 to 8.5, and the pH range for groundwater systems is between 6 and 8.5. The fisheries officials found the range at 5.8 in Hakaluki Haor. • Tk120cr crops lost in Moulvibazar flash floods • Saiful Islam, Moulvibazar The government has finally estimated the damages caused to crops due to flash flood in Haor and low-lying areas in Moulvibazar to be Tk120.76 crore. The crops in around 10,276 hectares of paddy fields were completely damaged; and the estimated output from those fields stood at Tk120.76 crore if per kg paddy was to be sold at Tk24, according to officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension. The most flood-ravaged areas include Hakaluki Haor, Hail Haor, Sonadighi Haor and Koirkona Beel. The local administration initially estimated the loss to be around Tk200 crore. DAE Deputy Director Md Shahjahan told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the government had been planning to provide some assistance to the flood-affected farmers. Paddy was cultivated on around 53,000 hectares of land across the district, of which paddy fields covering 17,432 hectares were inundated by the onrush of water from Meghalaya hills in India. The government has allocated 100 tonnes of rice and Tk8 lakh cash for the affected people in seven upazilas. • 5,000 hectares freshly inundated in Kishoreganj • Bijoy Roy Khoka, Kishoreganj Flood situation in Kishoreganj worsens as rivers continue to swell leading to the inundation of more than 5,000 hectares of paddy fields in the Haor areas. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) estimates that so far 45,777 hectares have gone under water while locals claim the figure would be double. The continuation of heavy rains as well as the onrush of water from the Meghalaya hills in India is leading to the swelling of the water level in all the rivers – big and small – linked to the Haors, informed local sources. Chairman of Boribari Union in Itna Upazila Abdur Rouf Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune that 100% of the paddy fields had been flooded. “Not a single grain of paddy could be saved,” he stressed. Chairman of Gopdighi Union in Mithamoin Nurul Haque Bachchu said that the lone surviving embankment of the area had fallen apart on Wednesday, leading to the inundation of the erstwhile flood-protected lands. DAE Deputy Director Md Shafiqul Islam said that the flood situation had continued to worsen and more lands were at risk of being inundated. •
News 7 FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2017 DT Project officers scarce as ACC visits affected Haor areas • Himadri Shekor Vodro, Sunamganj An Anti-Corruption Commission delegation visiting Sunamganj yesterday did not find any official of the project implementation committees (PIC) or the contractors assigned for crop protection embankments. ACC Director Md Belal Hossain led the inspection at three Haorbased embankments. “Anybody from the PICs or construction firms will face legal action, if found linked to any anomalies,” he told a press meet at Sunamganj Circuit House. “Nobody responsible for the situation will be spared.” According to the ACC, the inquirers are mainly focused on whether the damages to the embankments were caused due to negligence of the authorities concerned. Days of heavy rainfall and onrush of water from the upstream Meghalaya hills in India starting from late March inundated around 136,000 hectares of paddy fields, mostly of mature Boro rice, in Sunamganj, states the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). The three-member inquiry committee was formed on April 13 after different media reported massive graft in the Haor protection embankment projects. The government allocated Tk68.70 crore to Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) for the crop protection embankments in the district. The BWDB later floated tenders on condition that project works have to be completed by February 28. But, the projects were not finished even after the BWDB extended the deadline until March 31. • Lightning strikes leave five dead • Tribune Desk Five persons including two siblings were killed when they got struck by lightning in three districts yesterday. Lightning strikes accompanied by thundershowers claimed the lives of Lipi Akter, 11, and Shariful Islam, 8, of Dakkhinchar Sulukia village in Sudharam of Noakhali in the evening. In Barisal, two fishermen were struck by lightning while catching fish in the Kalbadar River in Mehendiganj. They died on the spot, said Akteruzzaman, OC of Mehendiganj police. Madrasa student Mahmudul Hasan Shayek, 12, was killed in lightning strike in Swarupkathi of Pirojpur in the evening when he went outside, said our correspondent. •
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