Hailstorm damages fruit, vegetable crops in Seraj

Mandi, May 12

A hailstorm caused considerable damage to fruit, vegetable and other crops in the Seraj area of Mandi district two days ago, leaving farmers in utter distress. The hailstorm badly damaged apple, pear, peas, wheat and Barley crops in the Seraj region.

The major damage to crops by the hailstorm was reported in Bhrad, Rakchue, Payala, Jhakri, Thach, Fader, Laamb and Deji villages of the Seraj Assembly segment. Farmers Dole Ram, Mahender Kumar, Diwan Chaand and Param Dev said that the hailstorm brought doom for them in the Seraj valley, as they were dependent for their livelihood on cash crops like apple, pear, peas, wheat and barley.

Mahender Singh Rana, a member of the Apple Producer Federation, said that reports were coming from different parts of Seraj that the hailstorm had damaged fruit and vegetables crops. He added, “We urge the agriculture and horticulture departments in Mandi to assess losses suffered by farmers and submit their reports to the state government for financial assistance at the earliest.”

Vijay Pal Singh, a Congress leader from Seraj, also urged the authorities concerned to take note of the situation and assess the losses in time to provide compensation to the affected farmers.