SYLHET, July 08: A total of about over 5,000 hectares of Aus paddy land in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts had been inundated by the floods caused by excess rains coupled with rolling of water from the upstream.
However, the unofficial sources claimed the affected area would be higher as all the 4 districts had been affected by the floods more or less.
Contacted, an official at the Sylhet divisional office of the DAE informed this afternoon Aus paddy on 5004 hectares of land had gone under water during the last few days.
It includes 4,468 hectares in the Sylhet district's upazilas- Sadar, Dakshin Surma, Gowainghat, Companiganj, Golapganj, Jaintapur and Kanaighat and 536 hectares in Sunamganj Sadar, Chhatak, Doarabazar and Jamalganj upazilas under Sunamganbj district.
However, due to lesser rains on Friday water receded from about 400 hectares in Sylhet and 10 hectares in Sunamganj district, the official added. The extent of loss is however, yet to be ascertained.
It may be stated here Aus paddy had been cultivated on a total of 1,68,482 hectares was cultivated, about 4 per cent behind the season's target in the Sylhet division. It includes 59,192 hectares in Sylhet, 49,440 hectares hectares in Moulvibazar, 46,720 hectares in Habiganj and 13,130 hectares in Sunamganj.
A programme was earlier taken up to bring 174,824 hectares of land in the 4 districts under the crop's farming as the total target of production was set at 440,807 tonnes of rice.
The DAE in the last year had to revise the division's target from its initial area of 133,028 hectares to 176,919 hectares in a bid to recoup the loss of Boro paddy by the repeated and early floods. However, the total Aus paddy cultivated area stood at 170, 782 hectares that season.
Md. Altabur Rahman, Additional Director of the DAE's Sylhet divisional office informed incentive distribution among listed poor farmers for Aus cultivation was completed weeks ago as the Government had sanctioned Tk 5,27,17,500 in assistance for the poor farmers in the division in a bid to help those cultivating Aus.
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