Hailstorm damages off-season veggies in Shimla

Shimla, June 4

Heavy hailstorm lashed a few villages in the vicinity of Shimla today afternoon, causing damage to the off-season vegetables grown in the area.

“The hailstorm lasted around 30 minutes. By the time it stopped, it had destroyed vegetables like cauliflower, French bean, tomatoes and local cucumber,” said Amar Singh Thakur, a farmer from Chamiyana. “It’s the third major hailstorm to strike in the last 15 to 20 days. This time the damage is too high,” he said.

Thakur said cauliflower was just about ready for harvesting and plants of French bean had just been transplanted. “The hailstone has decimated the small French bean plants. Due to bad weather this time, we had to grow the French bean plants thrice in the nursery. Twice the seeds did not germinate due to cold and this time the hailstone has damaged it,” said Thakur.

Vijay Verma, a farmer from Patgair panchayat, said today’s hailstorm had caused heavy damage to the vegetables. “The magnitude of the hailstone was huge today and it has destroyed most of the vegetables. Most of the people are dependent on off-season vegetables in our areas which have been destroyed,” he said.

Himachal Kisan Sabha president Kuldeep Tanwar said the farmers should be compensated for their loss. “The per bigha compensation in case of losses due to natural calamity is very low. The government should offer reasonable compensation to help farmers make up for losses,” he said.