Water in the flood-hit areas of the country has been receding as water level in the rivers in most of the areas began falling in the last 24 hours ending Thursday morning.

Farmers in the affected areas as well as department of agricultural extension officials said that the farmers had lost their crops and seedbeds in vast areas due to the prolonged flood that hit parts of almost half of the districts of the country.

The farmers expressed their worry about their future while there is a forecast that there might be a new spell of flood by the end of this month due to heavy rainfall in the upstream.

Bangladesh Water Development Board’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre executive engineer Md Arifuzzaman Bhuyan said that there was no flood in the country right now.

The FFWC’s rainfall and river situation summary shows that out of 101 monitored water level stations, water level fell at 65 stations, rose at 33 stations and remained steady at three stations.

The forecast said that the Brahmaputra-Jamuna rivers were in rising trend and it might remain steady in the next 24 hours.

‘The Ganges-Padma river is in a falling trend, which may continue falling in the next 48 hours,’ it said and added that the rivers of the upper Meghna basin in the North-Eastern region of the country were in a falling trend except for the Kushiyara and Someswari and the  rivers of the upper Meghna basin might fall in the next 24 hours.

Our correspondent in Lalmonirhat, quoting department of agricultural extension officials in northern districts, reported that over 2,00,000 farmers in nine districts of the region suffered a double blow due to the prolonged flood that had damaged standing crops and seedbeds on vast swathes of land.

Many farmers said that they were feared that they would not be able to cultivate Aman paddy in the upcoming months as most of their seedbeds had been destroyed.

DAE officials said that standing crops on 4,577 hectares in Rangpur, 12,650 hectares in Kurigram, 1,500 acres in Nilphamari, 1200 hectares in Lalmonirhat, 2,533 hectares in Gaibandha and 6,434 hectares in Bogura were damaged in the flood.

Besides, Aush paddy on around 3,000 hectares, vegetables on 56 hectares of land, and Aman seedbed on 116 hectares were destroyed in three more northern districts of Dinajpur, Thakurga and Panchagarah.

‘We have incurred a loss of Tk 4 lakh as papaya on 33 decimal, banana on 60 decimal and tree garden on 33 decimal lands have gone underwater. Moreover, three of our fish ponds have been washed away,’ said Akash Khan, a flood victim of village Gabura under Pirgacha upazila in Rangpur.

‘I do not know what is store for me in future,’ he said.

‘I cultivated jute on five bighas of land. But all of my crops were damaged in the first phase of flood in early July. Later, I tried to prepare seedbeds for Aman but it was also damaged by the second phase of the flood,’ said Monirul Islam, a flood-victim of Ramna village under Chilmari upazila in Kurigram. 

DAE Rangpur division’s additional director Mohammad Ali said that community seedbed was prepared on a total 3.99 acres of land in the division with the support from the DAE and added that 580 units of floating seedbed were also prepared.

Our correspondent in Sirajganj reported that the affected people, though began to return to their homes leaving highlands and shelters, were in anxiety as water level had been swelling in the river Jamuna.

The water, however, had been flowing below the danger level.

The district relief and rehabilitation officer said that 5.5 lakh people of the district’s six upazilas were affected in the flood.