Dhaka, April 26 -- Hilly runoff has breached the Najarkhali embankment at Tanguar Haor in Sunamganj, allowing water to flow into the area.

Local residents said water started entering through the embankment on Saturday morning.

The embankment, however, is not part of the Bangladesh Water Development Board's (BWDB) designated crop protection system, but rather a structure built by locals for travel purposes.

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Sunamganj said Boro paddy was cultivated on 1,235 hectares of land in the protected part of Tanguar Haor, and nearly 80 percent of the crop has already been harvested.

Local environmental activist and farmer Ahmad Kabir said, "We repair this embankment ourselves each year.

"During t...