Kushtia Correspondent

A scorching summer day turned into a nightmare for betel farmers in Bheramara upazila, Kushtia, as a raging inferno tore through their fields on Saturday.

Over 40 bighas of land, containing around 4,000 lines of betel plants, were reduced to ashes in the devastating fire, leaving a trail of despair and financial ruin for some 35 farmers.

According to local administration officials, the fire originated at a betel garden in Patuakandi Khushirpara area under Dharampur union of the upazila at 1130am on the day.

The cause of the fire is suspected to be a twofold threat a short circuit at a betel field owned by one Farz Ali Farazi and carelessly discarded cigarette butts from farmers.

The intense heat wave currently gripping the region provided the perfect tinderbox conditions, allowing the flames to spread rapidly from one betel garden to the next.

Firefighting units from Kushtia Sadar, Bheramara, and Mirpur arrived at the scene upon receiving information and battled the blaze for over four hours before finally bringing it under control.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire originated from a short circuit at a betel field owned by one Farz Ali Farazi of the area and soon spread to nearby gardens due to the ongoing heat wave.

Zahurul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bheramara Police Station, said thrown away lit cigarette butts of some farmers might have caused the fire in the garden.

Bheramara upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Akash Kumar Kundu visited the spot and asked upazila agriculture officers to prepare a list of affected farmers and estimate the extent of damages caused by the fire.

Earlier on 10 March, a massive fire ripped through several betel leaf gardens in the same area and burned down betel plants on around 300 bighas of land