June 21, 2011

Floods sweep away Bangladesh aqua farms 

More than 6000 shrimp and sweet water fish enclosures in Bagerhat were swept away by tidal waves due to continuous downpour in the past three days.

District Fisheries Officer Bazlur Rashid said, farmers incurred a loss of BDT46 million (US$622,130) as 6,271 ponds and shrimp enclosures in the district washed away due to tidal surge and heavy rain.

Farmers fear an irreparable loss of Aus paddy if the water does not recede from 4,500 hactares of cropland within the next four to five days.

Md Abdul Gafur, deputy director of district agriculture office, said boro crops on 1,175 hactares in Kachua, 2,500 hactares in Moralganj, 400 hactares in Sharankhola and 425 hactares in Chiltamari upazila have gone under water.

The Water Development Board (WDB) has, meanwhile, asked for BDT12.5 million (US$169,057) on emergency basis for repair of several points of two-kilometre area of the two embankments in four upazilas.