Over 75 pc Kharif, Rabi crops damaged in Jammu, Samba due to hailstorm

Apple in Kulgam, Shopian, Paddy in Kupwara suffer loss
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Oct 29: The recent hailstorm and snowfall have caused immense damage to standing crops including vegetables and fruit in the Union Territory of J&K dashing hopes of farmers who were looking for a good harvest this season.
As per official sources, the maximum damage has been caused to the Kharif crop in twin districts of Jammu and Samba where the standing Paddy especially Basmati crop as well as Rabi crop of Vegetables has totally perished due to hailstorm on October 23.
Sources said there is 75 to 80 percent loss of both Kharif and Rabi crops in twin districts of Jammu and Samba while it is about 50 percent in Kathua district. However the loss is comparatively less in other districts of Jammu region where the Kharif crop of paddy, is not grown due to their terrain, sources added.
They said that the apple and citrus fruit in Jammu region including Strawberry has also been damaged. The apple fruit in Wadwan area of Kishtwar district has damaged due to snowfall while the citrus fruit and Strawberry in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts were damaged to a great extent and the authorities of Horticulture and Revenue Department have framed the joint teams to assess the loss.
However, the loss of fruit is not to that extent in the other districts of Poonch and Rajouri, sources said.
They said in Kashmir division there has been no loss of paddy as the crop was mostly harvested there by the middle of October. However, in Kupwara district of North Kashmir the paddy crop over 3600 kanals of land has been damaged. Sources said the Saffron which is harvested in November every year has also suffered some damage due to heavy rains and cold wave which engulfed the Valley due to snowfall and the flower growth will be delayed. The Saffron growers apprehend that the flowering will be comparatively less this year. The worried growers are not expecting the bumper crop as they alleged the irrigation scheme under National Saffron Mission has also fell through and the 75 percent corm has already been damaged due to lack of the irrigation facilities for the crop in time.
Sources said the apple fruit in Kashmir has been mostly damaged in twin districts of Kulgam and Shopian in South Kashmir due to heavy snowfall as the fruit was still lying on the trees in most areas of the districts and was not plucked yet. In most areas where the fruit was plucked and was stocked in orchards for packing has also suffered damage due to snowfall and cold wave. In these twin districts, the loss is over 25 to 35 percent. Keller, a hilly area in Shopian district has suffered maximum damage to the apple fruit as plucking is done late there due to cold temperature, sources added.
Sources said in Jammu flowers have also suffered a heavy damage due to hailstorm. The Marigold which is mostly in demand on Diwali festival and on the sale of which farmers make good earning during the festival has completely been damaged due to hailstorm.
Sources said the flower growers in both Jammu and Samba and some parts of Kathua district and especially in Marh, Gajansoo, R S Pura, Bishnah and Nagrota of Jammu have suffered immense loss to the crop which completely perished due to hailstorm.
Former Minister and Kissan leader, Ch Sukhnandan said the damage was over 80 percent in twin districts of Jammu and Samba where both Paddy crop and vegetable crop has been completely damaged.
Tejinder Singh Wazir, president, Kissan Council said that over 75 percent Basmati and other paddy crop was damaged. He sought compensation to farmers on the Delhi Government pattern.
He said Government without politicking should constitute teams and assess the loss to provide compensation on war footing basis. He made an appeal to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister, Amit Shah and Minister in PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh in this regard.
Mir Ghulam Rasool, a member of Fruit Growers district Ganderbal in Central Kashmir has also urged the Government to make the assessment and provide compensation to fruit growers and farmers immediately. He also demanded insurance scheme for fruit should also be launched in the UT.
The authorities of Agriculture and Horticulture departments while acknowledging the loss due to hailstorm and snow said that they have constituted the teams of Agriculture, Horticulture and Revenue departments to assess the loss.
Advisor to the Governor, Farooq Khan visited various areas to take the stock of the damage caused by hailstorm in Jammu and interacted with farmers’ bodies, said A S Reen, Joint Director Agriculture, Jammu.
He said 1900 farmers have insured their paddy crop in Jammu and their cases are being expedited for the settlement of claims within 72 hours . In other cases where the farmers have no crop insurance the DCs of respective districts were consulted to constitute the joint teams to make the assessment of losses to provide the relief to the affected farmers under the SDRF norms.
He also admitted that paddy crop in Jammu and Samba has suffered damage from 75 percent to 80 percent while it is near 50 percent in Kathua district.
Director Horticulture Jammu, Ram Sewak also said that the Department is making assessment of the damage of fruit in Jammu Region and accordingly the compensation will be paid as per the norms fixed by the Government.
Director Agriculture Kashmir, Iqbal Ahmed Choudhary said that the paddy did not suffer any major damage in Kashmir as the crop was already harvested in the Valley. However, 3600 kanals of standing crop was damaged in Kupwara belt in North Kashmir and the damage assessment is being made by the Department to provide the compensation under SDRF norms. He said teams of Department led by him and other officers have visited various areas to assess the loss.
Director Horticulture, Kashmir, Aijaz Ahmed Bhat also said that the maximum fruit growers had plucked the apple from trees in entire Valley except in some areas of Shopian and Kulgam districts where the apple fruit was lying on trees and it suffered damage. The Department is assessing the loss to provide compensation to growers, he added.