Heavy rain ruins betel gardens in Patuakhali

Betel gardens on around 150 hectares out of 644 hectares of land in all eight upazilas of the district have been badly damaged due to heavy rain.

"I have 40 betel gardens and at least 30 of them have been badly affected by downpour. The fence and roof of many gardens have collapsed and the roots of betel plants are rotting," said Abdul Latif Talukder, a betel farmer of Charkhali village in Galachipa upazila.

Hanif Jomaddar, a farmer of Majgram village in the same upazila, said most of the betel fields were badly damaged due to stagnant rain water that could not drain into nearby water bodies as they are overflowing.

"The government should take immediate steps to rehabilitate us as we are incurring huge loss this year," Hanif said.

Farmers said betel prices have also dropped as they have to pluck leaves in a large scale for sale as those are getting damaged because of stagnant water.

A source in the Patuakhali office of the Department of Agriculture Extension said 150 out of 644 hectares of betel gardens have been badly affected in the district, and all the affected gardens are in Galachipa upazila.

Md Mizanur Rahman, Galachipa upazila deputy assistant agriculture officer, said betel growers are facing loss this year because of heavy rainfall.

Abdul Mannan, Galachipa upazila agriculture officer, said "We have informed the higher authorities about the matter so that farmers could get financial support from the government."