e_Paper 24-04-2017

24
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
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FURIOUS AFGHANS CALL FOR RESIGNATIONS
AFTER TALIBAN BASE ATTACK › 9
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BRILLIANT COMEBACK › 18
AYNABAJI
ON TV › 23
Aquatic species dying from
chemical reaction in haor water
• Abu Siddique, from
Sunamganj
Experts say the water in the haor
regions in Bangladesh is not radioactive.
They believe the recent deaths
of various aquatic species in the
wetlands have been caused by a
chemical reaction in the water.
As news of the deaths of different
aquatic species, including fish and
snails, was picked up by the media
last week, many theorised that the
water may have become tainted by
radioactive waste infused water
flowing down from the uranium
mines in Meghalaya, India.
However, a three-member team
led by Bangladesh Atomic Energy
Commission member Dr Dilip Kumar
Saha has been looking into the
matter and has debunked the theory.
Dilip said yesterday: “We have
collected 25 samples from five haor
regions and did not find any radiation
in the water.
“In a normal environment, there
is usually a radioactivity range of
0.20 to 0.50. In the haor water, the
radioactivity reading is at 0.10.”
The atomic energy team sent
the samples to their Dhaka lab for
further analysis, but said it would
take 28 days to get the final results.
According to the Department
Fear of hunger looms over haors
• Abu Siddique from
Sunamganj
Life had been good for Romela Begum
until the 45-year-old had to stand in
line for cheap rice. While the mother
of five from Bishshambharpur upazila
of Sunamganj was waiting in queue at
one of the OMS points, she had her first
brush with nepotism.
The government undertook open
market sales (OMS) of cheap staples at
a number of points across the district
to provide relief to those affected by
the sudden floods.
Romela Begum is one such victim.
“I have been coming here for four
days for rice and flour but the vendors
only sell to people they are close to,”
she said.
Like most of her neighbours, and
indeed others across the district,
The water breaking through an embankment at a haor in Sunamganj was found to not be radioactive by a Bangladesh Atomic
Energy Commission team. The photo was taken yesterday
ABU SIDDIQUE
of Fisheries, some 50 tonnes of
fish have died since the country’s
northeastern part, commonly
known as haor region, was flash
flooded in early April.
Bangladesh Fisheries Research
Institute’s Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Masud Hossain Khan claimed
that a chemical reaction in the
water was the main cause of these
deaths.
He noted that aquatic life forms
were dying in different pockets
within the haor basin, which is
Romela felt the loss of the paddy which
was now submerged. It would have
sustained them for the year.
Romela’s unease and embarrassment
was evident, yet the middle-aged
woman was desperate for the cheap
OMS food because she feared her
family would otherwise starve because
of the flooding.
The OMS points sell rice at Tk15-17
per kg which is around Tk38 in the
open market.
“I would not have been here if the
paddy fields were there,” she said.
Romela was not alone. Many others
had also lined up for the first time.
Mala Rani Biswas came with her
11-month-old son Pallab in her arms.
“I feel embarrassed but I have to do
this,” said Mala, adding: “it is obvious
that the coming days will be hard.”
“We have lost our crop and now we
comprised of seven districts – Sylhet,
Sunamganj, Habiganj, Netrakona,
Kishoreganj, Brahmanbaria
and Moulvibazar.
Refuting the radioactivity theory,
he explained: “Tanguar haor,
Matian haor and Shanir haor were
the most impacted by the flash
flooding and if the cause of death
for these aquatic species was radiation
poisoning, then these regions
would have been hit first.
“However, we have seen that
aquatic life which has been most
affected originate in different pockets
of the haor basin where the water
flow is comparatively lower.”
Masud believes that the ripe paddy
fields, which were submerged
by the flooding, had rotted and released
a large amount of ammonia
which in turn reduced the level of
dissolved oxygen in the water.
He also suggested that frequent
polluting of the haor waters might
also have contributed towards
the deaths of the various aquatic
species. •
must wait another year to recover the
losses.”
Mokbul Motubbor’s fear and
grief were apparent in his eyes as he
snipped handfuls of half ripe paddy at
Shonir Haor yesterday. This haor – large
water body that collects water in the
monsoon – was the last one standing
among the 42 haors in Sunamganj.
The sudden flash flooding in the area
had caused the water to surge over
the embankment, which inundated
acre after acre of standing crop – all 22
square-kilometres of it.
Mokbul will be among the hardest
hit. He had 40 acres of paddy, all of
which he is likely to lose. He could
not stand by and watch his crop get
destroyed by the flood in front of his
eyes, so he is now doing whatever he
can to save his crop.
Given the apprehension of impending
hardship across the haor regions
of Bangladesh’s north and north east –
Netrakona, Sunamganj, Brahmanbaria,
Moulvibazar, Habignaj and Sylhet – the
government has already decided to
start selling cheap staples at more OMS
points than before. It is estimated that
the floods have destroyed 600,000
hectares of paddy.
Although the area is prone to
such flash flood in late April and
May, the waters have been early this
year because of unusual rainfall in
Cherapunji upstream. The timing has
been rather bad as the crop would have
been ready for harvest in just about a
week.
Bangladesh produces 34 million
tonnes of rice, of which Boro accounts
for 19 million and the haor region
accounts for about the fifth of the Boro
acreage of 4.7 million hectares. •
Shonir Haor gives
way to flood
after one month
• Himadri Shekor Vodro,
Sunamganj
One month’s struggle of the farmers
to keep Shonir Haor intact against
the flood current has gone in vain
as parts of two embankments circling
the Haor have fallen apart.
A 50-foot-long breach was developed
on the Lalurgoala embankment
located at Rajdharpur
village of Dakkhin Shreepur Union
in Tahirpur around 2:30am on yesterday,
according to locals.
Besides, a part of another embankment
in neighbouring Ramjibanpur
village has also breached open.
The breaches made ways for the
Boulai River to spill into the paddy
fields of the basin.
For the past few weeks, the
farmers of Hakaluki Haor in the
north-eastern districts have been
reeling from the recent flash flood
that submerged their crop lands,
and killed fishes and ducks.
Local agriculture officials say
until last week, at least 11 upazilas
of Sunamganj district were heavily
hit by the flood.
But Saturday’s heavy rain and onrush
of hill water has worsened the
situation in Shonir Haor, the second
largest water body in the district.
Tahirpur Upazila Agricultural
Officer Abdus Salam told the
Dhaka Tribune that about 10,000
hectares of land in Shonir Haor
were brought under paddy cultivation
by the farmers of some 50
villages in Tahirpur, Jamalpur and
Bishambharpur upazilas.
When the heavy rainfall in late
March threatened the villagers’
crops, they voluntarily worked to
build some impromptu embankments,
which finally gave way to
the strong current of the Boulai.
Tahirpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer
Mohammad Saiful Islam said that
the farmers of Shonir Haor area,
along with the upazila administration
and the elected representatives
had all cooperated in trying to
repair the embankments, but their
efforts were in vain.
Tahirpur Upazila Chairman Kamruzzaman
Kamrul urged the government
to find a permanent solution.
One of the larger of its kind in
Sunamganj, the low-lying areas of
Shonir Haor remains under water
for about six months a year. Paddy
can be grown only during the
Boro season (November-April) and
it is the main income source for the
people living in the area. •
Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower,
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