Hailstorm damages orchards in Kashmir; officials assess loss
Officials put the initial estimate of losses at 70-80% in selected areas
SRINAGAR: A day after a heavy hailstorm lashed parts of north Kashmir causing heavy damage to the fruit orchards, the authorities concerned undertook a detailed survey on Friday to assess the losses suffered by the fruit growers in the region.
Teams of agriculture and horticulture departments along with farmers carried out a survey of hailstorm-affected fruit and agricultural belts of north Kashmir, putting the initial estimate of losses at 70-80 per cent in some select areas of Kupwara and Baramulla districts.
While fruit growers said there was 50 percent damage on average to apple, walnut, cherry, pear, plum and apricot fruits and trees due to the heavy hailstorms on Thursday, the government officials said they were compiling a report of the “heavy losses” suffered by farmers associated with agriculture and horticulture sector.
Teams of horticulture and agriculture officials led by director horticulture Ghulam Rasool Mir and director agriculture Mohammad Iqbal Chowdhary visited Kupwara and Baramulla districts to assess the damage.
“The damage has been heavy to fruits particularly apple and other standing fruits like cherry, peach, plum and even walnut especially in upper reaches,” said the horticulture director.
“Our teams are making an assessment of losses but some areas where we visited like Trehgam and Rafiabad have suffered 70-80 percent damage,” he added.
Mir said the hails have caused damage to fruits and they have issued an advisory for farmers on how to deal with that.
“But first the rains should stop, only then the farmers can start measures to arrest the infection which can be caused by the hail hit,” he added.
Describing the hailstorm, Fayaz Ahmad Malik, president of the Fruit Association of apple town Sopore, said the hails were of a heavy size, like stones, in some places and hit in abundance.
“The hails have caused scratches to the fruits and damaged the branches and leaves. In apples, more damage is caused to delicious and American varieties while cherry was almost ready and would have been harvested in June-July. The damage is heavy at some places but on an average, it will be 50 percent losses,” Malik added.
This year intermittent rainfall and low temperatures in March and April had already affected the pollination of apple orchards across Kashmir triggering concerns about a decrease in production during harvesting season later this year.
The rains and low temperatures had already affected apple pollination by around 20 percent.
Director agriculture Mohammad Iqbal Chowdhary said both districts – Baramulla and Kupwara – have faced heavy losses and the government is assessing the damage.
The agriculture and horticulture departments are compiling a list of farmers who suffered losses.
“The hailstorm yesterday and the climatic conditions this year have caused losses to many paddy nurseries which have been damaged in Kupwara as well as Baramulla. Director agriculture and director horticulture will jointly submit a preliminary report today to the government and then a detailed report as well,” he added.
Thinking about how to deal with such natural calamities in the future, he said, “We are planning to include agricultural crops in Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana as Kharif has started like our maize and paddy crops. As far as horticulture is concerned, particularly apple, we are bringing them also in this within a fortnight.”
Bashir Ahmad Bashir, chairman of Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers cum Dealers Union, said the losses were not only in north Kashmir but also in south Kashmir districts of Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Anantnag and central Kashmir’s Budgam districts as well.
“Since the fruit Industry is the backbone of Kashmir’s economy. Therefore, damage to this Industry is equivalent to damage to the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. It is currently impossible to estimate the immediate damage,” he said.
He sought an aid package for fruit and vegetable crop farmers affected by heavy hailstorms and also the implementation of a Crop Insurance Scheme in Kashmir. “The Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union has been pleading with the government to implement the Crop Insurance Scheme so that there will be a little relief in the event of minor calamities, but the scheme is not yet implemented which may kindly be introduced in the interest of the valley-based fruit growers,” he said.
Kashmir is India’s largest apple grower fetching revenue over ₹8,000 to ₹10,000 crore to the UT and contributing around 8-10% of its gross domestic product.
The UT produces around 20 lakh metric tons of apples per year. Around seven lakh farming families (approximately 35 lakh people) are directly or indirectly associated with the horticulture sector.
Weather to improve from today: J&K MeT office
With widespread rains and gusty winds for the third consecutive day in Kashmir on Friday, the MeT office said that weather will improve from Saturday onwards.
“Current spell of moderate showers with thunder/ lightning over many places with gusty winds at few places likely to continue during next 5-6 hours and gradual decrease thereafter,” the meteorological centre, J&K, said in an update at 8 pm on Friday.
There is also a possibility of light snowfall most likely over higher reaches of the Bandipora, Kupwara and Sonamarg-ZojilaGumri axis most likely during tonight. “Thereafter, no significant weather till May 29 afternoon,” the centre said.
It said there may be chances of intermittent light rain, thunder and lightning at a few places on Saturday and Sunday.
The centre advised farmers to suspend all farm operations on May 29 and 30. Meanwhile, the night temperatures recorded a fall with Srinagar recording a minimum of 9.4°C, some 2.6°C below normal. The southern resort of Pahalgam witnessed 4.8°C while Gulmarg ski resort in north Kashmir recorded a low of 2.2°C. The night temperature in Jammu was 19.4°C, some 5.0°C below normal.