Off-season rain influenced by the depression in the Bay during the last three days caused extensive damage to Aman paddy and Rabi crops in all eight upazilas under the district.

Local Met office recorded 170 mm rainfall during the last three days.

Aman paddy was cultivated on 1.01 lakh hectares of land in the district this season and its harvest would start one or two weeks later but most of the Aman fields went under water due to last three days' rain, said sources at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).

DAE sources said the inundation would cause damage to 10 percent of Aman paddy while local farmers claimed that the amount of damage would be much more.

"I cultivated Aman paddy on five acres of land but it is now under rainwater. Khesari dal on my one acre of land is also under water," said Abdul Halim, a farmer of Khalishakhali village under Patuakhaii Sadar upazila.

Abdul Mannan, another farmer of the village, said his Aman paddy on two and a half acres of land went underwater although he expected to harvest it one or two weeks later.

Khesari dal was cultivated on 27,490 hectares of land in the district but 88 percent of the crop has gone under water, DAE sources said.

Besides, 70 percent of potato, 40 percent of wheat, 80 percent of watermelon and 30 percent of vegetable fields have been flooded.

"The off-season rain caused damage to Aman paddy and Rabi crops. Hopefully, the percent of damage would not be high as the weather condition is likely to improve soon," said Hridayeshwar, deputy director of DAE.