From Our Correspondent

MYMENSINGH, Sept 4:?The jute growers of the district have been facing problems in rotting their harvested jute plants due to insufficient water in the beels (marshy land) canals and ditches.

There is no alternative of extracting jute fibre from jute plants without rotting those in water. Harvested jute plants have to be kept in water for 15 to 20 days for rotting to facilitate extraction of fibre from the jute plants.

The rainy season could not provide adequate water in the current year. the jute growers are unable to rot the harvested jute plants as beels, canals and ditches are lying without water due to lack of sufficient rainfall and flood in the current season.

The jute growers of the district sold one quintal of jute at Tk 1500 to 1600 last year. So expecting a fair price the jute growers of the district brought more land under jute cultivation this year. But scarcity of water to has gripped the jute growers with frustration.

Some of the farmers are abstaining from cutting jute plants due to heavy expenses of extracting jute fibre in absence of sufficient water.

Meanwhile some jute farmers mostly reside by the banks of the rivers including Sutia, Khiru, Jalgava, Netai, Shila, Shimulia and Kangsha are rotting jute plants in the said rivers causing the water of the rivers to pollute.

Despite this some affluent farmers of different areas of the district are carrying their jute plants with different vehicles and rickshaws vans to the riverside areas.

Many farmers are worried because, they have no much money to carry their harvested jute plants in the rivers for away from their areas.

Madaripur

Our Correspondent writes : Scarcity of water for rotting jute plants has frustrated the jute growers of Madaripur and Shariatpur districts. At a time when they were expecting bumper production of jute and fair price of their produce, the dry spell has nipped their high hope in the bud.

Depth of water in these sources should be at least three feet for rotting jute plants. But there is little water in canals, water bodies and ponds due to prolonged drought sweeping these districts during the current season.

These sources of surface water normally remain full of water during the Bangla months of Ashar, Srabon and Bhadra. But the water level in these sources has gone down abnormally this season because of unprecedented dry spell.

Some of the farmers of Sadar Upazila said favourable weather and availability of seeds, fertilisers and other inputs in time upped the bumper production of jute this season.

Sohrab Hossain Kazi (58), a well up jute growers of Laxmigonj village under Sadar upazila, said fair prices of Golden Fibre last year encouraged many farmers to put more lands under jute cultivation this year. He has harvested jute plants from his inter four bighas of land and half of them stacked on the field.

According to some senior officials and experts of the DAE in the region, the government has fixed a production target of 3,87,050 bales of jute from 89,000 acres of land in Madaripur and Shariatpur districts during the season.

Jute is selling at Tk 900 to Tk 1050 per maund this year. The farmers are happy with the present price of the golden fibre. But they are unhappy for their inability to rot the jute plants.
_______________
Source: Bangladesh Observer