Power Outages Disrupt Daily Life, Leaving Farmers Struggling in Godagari
Load shedding has gone on without a break for the past few weeks, and life has become hard for people. Farmers must wait in long lines at irrigation pumps until late at night to water their fields. The Aman rice is at the stage where grain forms in the ear, and in some places the grain has hardened in the husk. Any break in irrigation now would waste a whole year of farmers’ hard work.
It has not rained heavily for a long time, so the weather is hot and sticky. Old people and children have fallen sick, and illnesses linked to cold have spread among people of all ages. Load shedding happens every afternoon, evening and night, so people find no peace in mosques, at home or outside. Fans, motors, air coolers and water pumps do not run, and people must stay without power for six to seven hours.
The old, students and children suffer the most. They are down with diarrhoea, cold, cough, measles, skin diseases and other illnesses. The test exams began yesterday. Examinees, teachers and guardians are now worried about the power cuts.
Abdullah Al Mamun Abul, a farmer in Godagari Upazila, said he planted rice on 10 bighas of land. Since then, load shedding and higher prices of fertiliser, pesticide, seed and farm labour have left him in trouble. He hopes to bring the ripe rice home in a few days, Insha Allah, if the weather stays good.
Abdul Matin, a farmer from the Godagari municipality area, said power cuts, higher wages for workers, and higher prices of fertiliser and fuel have raised the cost of growing Boro rice this year compared with last year. Still, farmers of the region are growing Boro. Sources at the Godagari Upazila Department of Agricultural Extension said IRRI Boro rice was grown on 14,850 hectares of land in the upazila this season. In the morning and afternoon breeze, the green and golden ears of rice sway, and so do the dreams of farmers.
Abdul Haque, 65, a resident of Shibsagar area, said power goes off and comes back several times while people pray Maghrib and Asr at the mosque. Worshippers cannot pray properly because of this.
