The brutal incident took place at some point on Saturday night in a field in Boalia village of the upazila. It is estimated to have caused the farmer a loss of Tk 5-6 lakh. According to local sources, Boalia village farmer Asadul Islam had borrowed money to grow bottle gourd and pumpkin on 4 bigha of land. For a few days, hundreds of young gourds and pumpkins had begun forming on the trellises. He had been running his household by picking gourds from the field each day and selling them at market.
On Sunday morning, going as usual to pick gourds, Asadul was stunned. He saw that miscreants had cut through the base of every plant with a sharp weapon. As the morning wore on and the sun grew stronger, the green leaves and shoots on the trellises wilted and collapsed to the ground. Seeing such a cruel death of the dream he had carefully built broke the farmer down in tears.
On learning of the matter, Mahespur upazila agriculture officer Yasmin Sultana expressed strong anger and sorrow. “We have learned of the cutting down of the bottle-gourd and pumpkin plants in the Boalia field,” she said.
A sub-assistant agriculture officer was sent to the scene as soon as the news came. “We are with the affected farmer. He will be given legal assistance, and if any government incentive comes later, he will be helped on a priority basis,” she said.
Contacted on the matter, local police said the incident was deeply regrettable. Destroying a farmer’s crops out of enmity was a punishable offence, they said, adding that on receiving a written complaint from the affected farmer, the culprits would be identified through investigation and strict legal action taken.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report