The sudden hailstorm that swept across Jashore yesterday has damaged Boro paddy on 5,011 hectares of land in Sadar and three other upazilas, according to Department of Agricultural Extension.

The paddy, which were already harvested and kept on the field, is now under water, while most of the unharvested paddy has fallen due to the hailstorms.

Affected farmers said there was hailstorm coupled with rain. Paddy fields now look like hay fields and fruits like mango and litchi orchards have also been extensively damaged, they said.

The meteorological office adjacent to Jashore airport reported that after the intense heat over the last two weeks, strong winds started around 2:00pm yesterday. The hailstorm began at 2:25pm and intermittent rain continued until 4:20pm. A total of 6 millimetres of rain was recorded in Jashore, along with wind speeds 35km per hour.

Although the rain lessened at one point, a large amount of hail continued to fall.

Due to the prolonged hailstorm, Boro paddy crops in Jashore suffered irreparable damage during this critical harvesting season.

Officials from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said it has not yet been possible to determine the full extent of the losses.

Jashore Deputy Director of the DAE, Mosharraf Hossain, said, "Chaugachha has been the most affected in Jashore due to this sudden hailstorm. Around 70 to 80 percent of the standing paddy in the upazila has been damaged."

He added that this year, paddy was cultivated on 157,500 hectares of land in Jashore. Until yesterday, 51 percent of the crop had been harvested.

"We advise farmers to quickly harvest ripe paddy and drain water from fields where paddy has already been harvested. Hopefully, the weather will improve from today," he said.

According to the DAE, the total initial loss has been estimated at paddy crops on 5,011 hectares of land. Of this, 1,720 hectares were affected in Sadar upazila, 1,204 hectares in Chougachha upazila, 1,657 hectares in Bagharpara upazila, and 430 hectares in Sharsha upazila.

Raju Hossain, a farmer from Singhajuli Mathpara village in Chaugachha, said the paddy plants in his field were just standing, but the grains had fallen from the ears onto the ground.

"The soil in the paddy field that fell due to the hailstorm has a golden colour," he said. "I had planted paddy on two bighas of land. I had harvested 15 kathas, while 25 kathas remained unharvested. After the hailstorm, I went to the field and found there was not a single paddy left."

He added that he still has to pay Tk 20,000 for the land lease. "Everything is over," he lamented.

Another farmer, Shahinur Rahman, from the same village, said, "This time I cultivated harvested 11 bighas of paddy. Four bighas were not harvested. I had harvested one and a half bighas and kept it for eating. All the unharvested paddy is gone."

He claimed that he suffered a loss of more than Tk 3.5 lakh.

Abdus Sattar from Haibatpur said that the tin roofs of his house were damaged in the hailstorm. In addition, the entire tin roofs of two houses in Adarshpara and Churamonkati union, were damaged.

Farmer Habib from Dogachia village said he was hoping to get 30 maund of paddy per bigha, but more than half of his ripe paddy was destroyed by the hailstorm.

Jashore Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Hasan Ali said, "The hailstorm has shattered the dreams of the farmers. They have suffered a lot. The extent of the damage is not yet known."

Local farmers reported that paddy fields in Singhajhuli, Bolidapara, Jhautala, Jamalta, Jagannathpur and Kayarpara have suffered extensive damage. Basmati paddy across 2,000 to 3,000 hectares in these areas has been severely affected, with Basmati and Miniket paddy falling flat in most fields.

Paddy fields in Panchnamana, Ichapur, Tarinibas, Kangsharipur, Swarupdah under the municipal area, and Laskarpur, Pitambarpur and Manmathpur in Chaugachha Sadar Union have also been affected.

Not only paddy, but various types of vegetables -- including parwal and arum — as well as mangoes and litchis have been extensively damaged.

In addition, in Bagharpara upazila, lightning caused fires on several fields where farmers had stacked ripe, harvested paddy.