Sunamganj is the home to several haors. So, the district is rightly called a haor basin. Farmers here grow several kinds of crops including boro paddy every year. However, their crops sometimes get washed away by the flash floods caused by excessive rainfall and onrush of hilly water from the upstream. In March 2017, an early flood devastated Sunamganj haor areas' crops and farmers lost Boro paddy on around 1,13,000 hectares.
To save crops, the government has taken up a project of building haor protection embankments in Sunamganj. The construction work of these dams was supposed to end by February 26. Unfortunately, construction of many embankments has not yet begun. We do not know when this work will come to an end.
River water is increasing day by day in Sunamganj. According to recent weather forecasts, it may start raining anytime soon in Sunamganj. So, panic is growing in the minds of farmers of losing their yields. Why is the construction of the dams neglected every year? We urge the authorities concerned to complete the dam construction projects on time. Otherwise, another tragedy could be scripted this year, too.
Asad Bin Safiq,
Jamalganj, Sunamganj