Farmers, fruit growers suffer loss of Rs 280 cr due to prolonged dry spell, hail

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 16

Farmers and fruit growers have suffered a loss of around Rs 280 crore due to the prolonged dry spell and hailstorm from March 1 to May 15.

In the reports submitted to the government, the Horticulture Department has pegged the loss at Rs 62 crore while the Agriculture Department estimated it to be around Rs 220 crore.

“The damage to the crops due to the dry spell has been in the range of 20 to 30 per cent, depending on the crop and location. With losses estimated over Rs 200 crore, substantial damage has been caused,” says NK Dhiman, Director, Agriculture.

Crops have suffered damage across the state – peas in Shimla and Kullu, tomato in Solan, garlic in Solan and Sirmaur and wheat in lower parts of the state. Meanwhile, fruits growers have also been affected by hailstone.

“All kind of fruits have been affected, mainly apple. Stone fruits and sub-tropical fruits have suffered lesser damage compared to apple,” said Rajesh Chaudhary, Deputy Director, Horticulture.

While the reports of damage are compiled and submitted to the government on a regular basis, there’s no clarity on whether farmers and fruit growers will receive any compensation or not.

“The whole exercise is a complete eyewash. No farmer has received any compensation on the basis of the reports,” said Fruit, Vegetable and Flowers Growers Association president Harish Chauhan.

“Apple growers had suffered damage last year. The surveys were done and the reports were sent to the Centre. Still, not a single grower received any compensation. So, we expect little from these reports and surveys,” added Chauhan.

He suggested that the government should create a fund for compensating farmers and growers if it was really serious about helping them.

Meanwhile, some pockets of the apple-growing areas received light hailstone with good rain today. In Shimla and nearby places like Kufri, the hailstorm was quite heavy.

Crops affected

• Crops have suffered damage across the state — peas in Shimla and Kullu, tomato in Solan, garlic in Solan and Sirmaur and wheat in lower parts of the state. Fruits growers have also been affected by hailstorm
• Some pockets of the apple-growing areas received light hailstone with good rain on Monday. In Shimla and nearby places like Kufri, the hailstorm was quite heavy

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