Farmers in the northern district of Panchagarh have suffered severe losses after a sudden hailstorm struck the region in the middle of the Hemanta (late autumn) season.
Many fields of Aman paddy were submerged in rainwater, while in other areas, standing crops were stripped of grain by the heavy hail.
According to the Agriculture Department, approximately 12 hectares of paddy fields have been damaged.
The storm began unexpectedly at around 5:30pm on Wednesday, bringing rain accompanied by hail that fell in two phases lasting 10 to 15 minutes. The affected areas include Haripur and Daulatpur in Mayandighi union under Boda upazila, Bhatiapara in Chaklahat union under Sadar upazila, and the Ranachandi area of Tirnaihat union under Tetulia upazila.
Of the total 12 hectares of affected Aman paddy fields, 10 hectares are in Boda upazila alone. In some places, harvested paddies left in the fields was submerged in rainwater, whereas in unharvested fields, fallen grains were seen scattered across the ground.
The unexpected damage has left local farmers in deep anxiety, particularly those who cultivated their crops by taking loans. For many households, the Aman season harvest provides year-round food security and fulfills vital domestic needs, but a single night of hailstorms has shattered their dreams.
Khairul Alam, an affected farmer from the Jhakua area of Mayandighi union in Boda upazila, expressed his despair after inspecting his fields in the morning. “Heavy hail hit our area yesterday evening, causing massive damage,” he said. “When I went to the field in the morning and saw the paddy lying on the ground, I broke down. I took loans with great difficulty cultivating this crop, and now it will be hard even to recover my costs. How will I survive?”
Another affected farmer, Abhinash Chandra Roy from Haripur in Mayandighi, shared a similar plight. He explained that he had cultivated two bighas of sharecropped land at an expenditure of over Tk20,000. “I depend on selling this paddy to pay the landowner, support my family, and store grain for food,” Roy noted. “With the damage caused by last night’s rain, I do not know how I will recover this loss,” he added.
The local Weather Office reported 8 millimetres of rainfall in the district over the past 24 hours. Officials noted that while the sky remains overcast due to monsoonal influences, sunny weather is expected throughout the day.
Meanwhile, Boda Upazila Agriculture Officer Ahmed Rashedur Nabi said that assistant agriculture officers are actively working in the field to assess the full extent of the damage. “No one anticipated such damage from sudden rain at this time of the year, as such weather is usually not seen in this season,” Nabi said, adding that the Agriculture Department remains committed to standing beside the farmers.
