Around 7,000 hectares of cropland have been submerged in Kishoreganj following several days of continuous rainfall, causing extensive damage to standing crops, officials and farmers said.

A total of 160 millimetres of rainfall has been recorded in the district during the period, leaving vast areas of haor land underwater and destroying crops in many fields.

Farmers said paddy that was due to be harvested within days is now submerged, washing away their hopes after months of cultivation.

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Large parts of the haor region are now inundated due to persistent rain and upstream inflow. While some paddy fields are still partially visible above water, farmers are trying to harvest those crops by any means possible.

However, many farmers, who took loans from moneylenders to cultivate their only seasonal crop, are now in distress as their fields have gone under water.

This period is typically the peak harvesting season when paddy is dried and stored. But continuous rain has also submerged threshing yards, causing harvested paddy to sprout instead of drying, leaving farmers with no option but to sell the damaged crop at low prices.

“We had a good yield this year, but everything has gone under water due to continuous rain. Now we are worried about how to repay our loans,” said several affected farmers.

Dr. Md Sadikur Rahman, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Kishoreganj, said some parts of the haor have been inundated due to the ongoing rainfall.

“We are inspecting the affected areas and preparing a list of the damaged land and farmers. The list will be sent to higher authorities, and we hope all affected farmers will be brought under government incentive programmes,” he said.

This year, a total of 168,262 hectares of land in Kishoreganj district were brought under Boro paddy cultivation.