A storm with hail has caused widespread damage to ripe Aman paddy, maize and chilli crops in several unions of Madarganj upazila in Jamalpur. The upazila agriculture officer said a single night of storm and hail damaged 30 hectares of Aman paddy, 5 hectares of maize and 10 hectares of chillies, along with other vegetable fields.
According to the agriculture office and local sources, the storm and hail struck from Tuesday night (10 November) until dawn on Wednesday, causing heavy losses of ripe Aman paddy, maize and chillies across Balijuri, Gunaritala, Char Pakerdaha and Jorkhali unions. Local farmers said crops on several hundred acres were damaged.
Rasel Mia, a farmer in Balijuri union, said the extent of the damage to paddy, chillies and maize in the char areas was not yet clear. “When I got up in the morning I saw the ripe paddy flattened into the ground, and the chilli plants had been uprooted by the wind and ruined,” he said.
The maize crops many farmers in Mali Para of Moslemabad, in Gunaritala union, had pinned their hopes on have been destroyed.
Sabuj, a maize farmer in the area, said the tall maize plants on the land of 40 to 50 farmers, his own included, had been broken by the wind and were lying on the ground. “Farmers bought expensive fertiliser, pesticide and diesel and worked hard to grow these crops. But they have lost them to a natural disaster,” he said.
Delowar, a farmer in Chandpur village, said farmers would not be able to make up for the damage the sudden storm and hail had done to ripe Aman paddy, chillies and maize.
Madarganj upazila agriculture officer Habibur Rahman said the storm and hail had damaged crops: 30 hectares of Aman paddy, 5 hectares of maize and 10 hectares of chillies and other vegetables. The losses may rise further, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report