Fish farmers in Kurigram district have lost an estimated Tk 5 crore worth of fish from 3087 ponds owned by 3,000 farmers that have been washed away and damaged by recent floods.
According to local sources, flooding has caused a loss of Tk 5 crore to the fish farmers in Kurigram during the first two weeks of July. The torrential rain and the rush of upstream water in the rivers marooned almost nine upazilas of the district and flooded thousands of hectares of land and a total of 3,087 ponds resulting in enormous losses to the farmers.
According to data from Kurigram District Fishery Office around 208 tonnes of different fishes and 42 lakh fingerlings have been washed away from the fish farms and ponds acquiring around 450 hectares of land.
A total of 55 unions including a municipality in the district were marooned due to the swell of water in Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla and Dudkumar rivers and incessant rains.
Deputy Director at DAE in Kurigram, Abdullah Al Mamun said, that standing croplands including vegetables on around 8,000 hectares of land went under the flood water during the flooding in the upazilas of the district causing damage and loss to the farmers.
A fish farmer at Sadar Upazila’s Vhogdanga Union, Gani Miah said, he had released fingerlings of various fishes worth around Tk 1 lakh in his 1.5 acres of pond two months back which were completely washed away. He tried to save the fish by setting nets around the pond but could not.
Many of the fish farms and ponds of the union got submerged. The farmers became very frustrated as they had to count losses, he added.
Hamidul Miah, a school teacher cum fish farmer at Shimulbari Union of Fulbari Upazila said he used to cultivate fish in his ponds and lease the water bodies. Flood has washed away fish worth around Tk 20 lakh and a vast number of fingerlings from his three ponds during this season.
Contacted, District Fishery Officer, Moktadir Khan said around three thousand fish farmers have to count the losses in the district due to the natural calamities. Some 3,087 fish ponds and many water bodies in nine upazilas of the district went underwater following the recurrent flood in the year. The figure of loss was estimated at Tk 4.58 crore.
"We have prepared a list of affected farmers and informed higher authorities," he added.
