The quantity of livestock I possess has come down significantly: Karuna Rani Sarker
“Previously, an area stretching out to about two to three bighas would yield an estimated amount of eight maunds of rice, now, my two bighas barely yield two and a half maunds”, says Karuna Rani Sarker, a resident of the Dumuria village, Phulbaria, Khulna.
“I own eight cows along with 5 calves but the quantity of livestock I possess has come down significantly mostly due to the outbreak of diseases especially among the poultry animals as well as the higher costs of maintaining them”, she adds.
While the annual average amount of rainfall in the area has decreased over the years, according to locals, it has become increasingly difficult for residents to predict the start of the rainy season, as a result of the untimely rainfall in the area.
Starting from even as early as the Bengali month of Magh, some showers have also been endured during Srabon with storms occurring much more frequently at far greater intensities than previously in the area. While storms would invariably come from the north in previous years, the direction from which the winds blow has changed to the west now.
Another new phenomenon experienced by locals in recent years has been the appearance of fog during evenings well after the winter, even till the month of Chaitra.
Rainfall – even though it is less than past decades on aggregate – have occurred at increasingly longer stretches over the past few years as have droughts, say locals.
By the time the month of Chaitra commences, all water-bodies situated in the area completely dry out, with the length of the droughts sometimes spanning to about three months.
A high level of salinity is also apparent in the soil as well as in some of the rivers surrounding the village, seriously affecting the harvest in the region and causing smaller and smaller harvests of fish.
Courtesy: New age
Category: Climate Change, Rural Women, South Asia