Water-logging in Bagerhat remains a tale of woe
Water-logging has forced the farmers of Bagerhat district to keep vast tracts of land uncultivated.
A total of about 62,000 bighas of land in all the nine upazilas of the have remained uncultivated due to water logging.
Of the total waterlogged land, 15,750 bighas are in Sadar upazila,17,775 bighas in Mullahat, 16,875 bighas in Rampal, 788 bighas in Fakirhat, 1,875 bighas in Moreleganj, 3,900 bighas in Sharankhola, 3,000 bighas in Mongla, 937 bighas in Chitalmari and 500 bighas in Kachua upazila.
Fresh areas are also becoming waterlogged every year due to rise in sea level, siltation on riverbeds, unplanned embankments, lack of river management and unplanned shrimp cultivation.
Sources said the farmers could get additional 20,000 tonnes of paddy if the waterlogged land could be brought under the cultivation. They are incurring a loss of about Tk 20crore every year, they added.
Coastal embankment project, which was designed to protect the low-lying coastal areas from inundation, has been the major factor in causing water-logging.
After the construction of the polders, the silt was deposited on the riverbeds, resulting in silting up of the rivers, while subsidence of the land within the polders continued.
Eventually, the exit point of the sluice gates became blocked and the tide then became weak as silt weakened its current.
Sources said fish cultivation through creating artificial dams across the canals is another reason behind the water logging. Some local influential people use the stagnant water for fish cultivation, barring the water flow.
Besides, water cannot recede as canal excavation programme in this region has been suspended for long.
The Department of Agriculture Extension has sent a letter to the agriculture ministry for resolving the water logging problem in the region.
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