Excessive rainfall has badly damaged green chilli plants on vast tracts of land in three upazilas of the district this year, much to the worry of thousands of growers.

According to the farmers of different villages in Harirampur, Shivalaya and Ghior upazilas, chilli bearing plants on 49 hectares of land have already dried up and died.

Many growers in those three upazilas said only days before they were very happy as they had a good yield of pepper due to favourable weather conditions this year.

But now they are surely to face a huge loss this season as their pepper plants suddenly started dying.

According to Manikganj Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) around 5,460 hectares of land in the district have been brought under chilli cultivation this year, which is almost 824 hectares more than that of last year.

While visiting different chilli fields at a number of villages under Balla Union in Harirampur upazila, this correspondent saw chilli plants in most of the fields have either completely or partially dried up and died.

“I planted 24,000 chilli saplings on 81 decimals of land this year and it started giving good yield,” farmer Mainuddin Molla of Boika village said, adding that all of a sudden about 8,000 of those plants died due to unknown reason.

Grower Nur Uddin of Kherupara village said he planted 12,000 chilli saplings on 50 decimals of land and of those 3,000 have already died.

Meanwhile, Renu Begum of Bhadiakhola village said half of the pepper plants on her 27 decimals of land dried up before dying.

Manikganj DAE Deputy Director Habibur Rahman Chowdhury said green chilli plants in many areas of the district have died due to the excessive rainfall in recent days.