Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 1: A powerful windstorm accompanied by light rain flattened the standing Basmati paddy crop in border belt of Arnia early this morning, causing widespread despair among the farming community.
According to reports, the windstorm struck around 4 AM following light showers, uprooting and flattening the paddy fields across the Arnia belt. The affected crop, primarily Basmati – a high-value commercial variety – was yet to flower and has now been rendered largely unproductive.
This calamity comes close on the heels of the September devastation, when the Ratna variety of paddy was severely damaged by heavy rains and flash floods in the same region. The back-to-back losses have left farmers in distress, as both staple and commercial varieties have suffered irreparable damage.
Local farmers expressed deep anguish over the destruction of their standing crops, urging the Government to intervene with urgent relief and compensation.
Roshan Singh, a farmer from Arnia, said the entire Basmati crop has been flattened and there is little hope of recovery. “The windstorm has completely damaged our Basmati, which is our main commercial crop. The Government should immediately conduct a survey of the losses and compensate us adequately,” he appealed.
Another farmer, Tilak Raj, lamented that the flattened paddy will neither flower nor yield grain. “The crop will rot in the fields. This is a total loss for us,” he said.
Darshan Kumar, pointing towards his damaged fields, noted that farming was his family’s only livelihood. “We sustain ourselves for the whole year by selling this crop. With the destruction of our fields, we have no means left to meet our daily expenses. The Government must step forward to help us,” he urged.
Farmers across the Arnia border belt are now pinning their hopes on immediate relief measures from the administration to mitigate the impact of the calamity.
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