A prolonged dry weather is badly affecting production of peanuts in the district this season, arousing a fear that harvest of the crop will not come up to the expectation.
Peanut plants on several hundred bighas of land are dying for absence of rain in the ongoing drought-like situation in the district.
Many farmers are getting upset to see their once-lively peanut trees decaying this way.
On the first day of Baishakh, farmers prayed for rain in different places of the district, for want of which production of other agricultural crops is also being hampered.
For extreme heat, water bodies in the district are running dry, leaving hardly any source of water.
Besides, frequent power cut because of load shedding is hampering irrigation posing threat to aman and boro paddy production.
But peanut farmers are the worst sufferers of the situation.
Farmers Rokon Uddin and Abdus Samad of Shial Khowa village said they cultivated peanuts on 23 bighas of land.
Since there is no electricity in their areas, they cannot irrigate their peanut fields in time.
High price of diesel has put them in a difficult situation hampering irrigation.
As soon as they give water to their peanut fields in the morning, the fields dry up in the afternoon due to scorching heat.
In this situation, they would not be able to get expected peanut harvest this year.
Sources at the local Department of Agriculture Extension office said peanuts were cultivated on 11,000 hectares of land in the district in the current season.
But due to the drought-like weather peanuts on six thousand hectares might be damaged, agriculture officials feared.
Meanwhile, several hundred people laid a siege to the local Power Development Board office demanding smooth electricity supply.
Farmers said frequent load shedding seriously holds back boro paddy cultivation.
They need electricity supply for at least 12 hours to irrigate boro fields.
But they get electricity only for three hours.
On the other hand, tea plants in 18 tea gardens here are also dying due to absence of rain.
If there is no rainfall in the next few days, the target of tea production in the district will not be achieved, it is apprehended.
Source: UNBConnect
