Crops worth Tk 42.2m damaged by cyclone Bulbul in Gopalganj

GOPALGANJ, Nov 14: Crops and vegetables of around 410 hectares of land have been damaged by the recent cyclone Bulbul.

Besides, crops of 1,250 hectares of land have been damaged partially in the cyclone.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) office sources said crops worth Tk 42.2 million have been destroyed.

Farmers of Aman paddy, different winter vegetables, fruits, betel leaf, pulses and fruits like papaya and banana are the worst victims, the sources said, adding, about 25,000 farmers have been affected by the cyclone.

Farmer Rabiul Islam of Maghigati village under Sadar upazila said he had standing Aman paddy on one acre of land which was completely damaged.

"Besides, my papaya and banana orchards at my homestead are damaged during the natural disaster", he added.

Ramesh Chandra Brahma, deputy director (Agriculture) in Gopalganj said grassroots farmers have suffered the most.

Banana farmer Samiul Haque of Gobendapur under Muksudpur upazila said his five acre orchard was completely damaged in the cyclone.

UNB adds from Bagerhat: The electricity supply system of Bagerhat Rural Electrification Board (REB) was severely affected by the cyclonic storm Bulbul that lashed the country's coastal districts in the early hours of Sunday.

Nearly 0.1 million REB consumers in the district have been living without power for four days, as the electricity supply system was not restored to full capacity till Wednesday, despite frantic efforts by the authorities concerned.

According to REB, a total of 415 poles collapsed while 554 got tilted during the storm at different places of the district. Besides, supply wires got snapped at 411 points while trees collapsed onto electric wires at 10,889 spots.

The REB incurred a loss of around Tk 40 million due to the storm, its officials said.

They said although they managed to restore power supply in upazila townships, residents of numerous villages are still without power.

Md Jakir Hossain, general manager of Bagerhat Palli Bidyut Samity, said electricity supply was severely affected in nine upazilas of Bagerhat and Khulna.

The upazilas are Sadar, Chitalmari, Fakirhat, Kachua, Mollahat, Mongla, Rampal of Bagerhat; and Rupsha, Terokhada upazilas of Khulna.

A total of 0.27 million consumers in these upazilas were left without power after Bulbul hit. Subsequently, 0.18 million consumers in a number of the affected upazilas have got the power supply restored. But, the officials said, 95,000 consumers are still without power.

Although a total of 1,500 people are working round the clock to restore the electricity supply in the affected areas, Jakir Hossain blamed manpower shortage for the continued delay being faced by these consumers.

His optimism could only extend as far as saying the electricity supply will be back to normal "within the next two or three days".

That, however, comes as scant consolation for the residents of different villages that have been left without electricity for the last four days.

"We're facing enormous problems due to power cut. Particularly, we're facing problems in recharging phones without which we have little or no option to contact relatives," complained a resident.

They urged the authorities concerned to restore the supply system as early as possible.

Meanwhile, another report adds: In Bhola, on the fateful night when cyclone Bulbul hit the coast, six people were at home, including Nilufar Begum, her husband and son. The cyclone took away everything that was in their home, even the pots and pans.

Locals said almost 30 houses in Bottola village of Gojaria Bazar were damaged within 30 to 50 seconds when the cyclone struck after 9:30pm. Of them, 17 were completely wrecked. At the same time, 10 houses at Peyarimohon village in Lalmohon upazila were destroyed.