Dhaka, May 4 -- A sense of profound despair has gripped the Haor regions of Sunamganj as relentless rains have submerged vast tracts of paddy, leaving farmers to watch their only means of survival rot and sprout in the rising water.

A visit to the Jhauar section of Dekhar Haor on Monday morning showed more than half of the area under water, submerging both ripe and unripe paddy.

As water levels rise, water hyacinths drifting in from nearby wetlands have spread across the fields, covering vast stretches of the Haor.

The scene makes it nearly impossible to distinguish farmland from open water.

Even the paddy that farmers managed to harvest in haste has begun to sprout -- a process known locally as Gera -- rendering the grain nearly usel...