Hailstorm, rain damage orchards in Baramulla district

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 26

Heavy rain and hailstorm wreaked havoc on apple orchards in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, which makes up 25 per cent of the state’s apple industry, officials said on Friday.

Apple trees and vegetables were damaged by hailstorm and rain in Baramulla, Sopore, Wagoora, Rafiabad and Zaingeer on Thursday evening.

The state administration has asked the Chief Horticulture Officer, Baramulla, to assess the damage and submit a report within a week, Horticulture Director, Kashmir, Aijaz Bhat said.

The Horticulture Director said the preliminary report revealed that the damage to apple orchards was not more than 2 per cent.

Locals, however, contested the claims of the official, saying the damage was severe and apple buds and blossoms were torn apart by the hailstorm.

The administration had issued a warning on Thursday that moderate rain with hailstorm and gusty winds were likely to hit some places in Baramulla, Sopore, Kupwara and Srinagar.

Bhat said nearly two dozen villages in Baramulla were hit by the hailstorm.

“We were expecting a bumper apple crop this year but it seems the nature wants to punish us. We are yet to recover from the losses suffered last year,” said Ghulam Hassan Rather, an orchardist in Wagoora.

Affected farmers and apple growers have demanded compensation for the losses and requested Governor Satya Pal Malik for a quick assessment of the crop damage.

The Kashmir valley produces nearly 20 lakh metric tonnes of apple every year from 1,46,016 hectares. Around 95 per cent of the produce is sent to various parts of the country. Some varieties are exported to Bangladesh.

The Rs 8,000-crore apple industry, which is Kashmir’s biggest economy, is in tatters as the government’s apathy and changing climatic conditions have adversely affected the crop production.

Due to the lack of demand in the market, at least 10 per cent of the apple boxes produced in Kashmir last year were lying at Kashmir’s biggest apple market at Sopore in north Kashmir.

President of the Sopore Fruit Mandi Fayaz Malik said the government had not introduced the crop insurance scheme, which was the long-pending demand of the growers.

“Despite being the backbone of Jammu and Kashmir’s economy, the government has added to the miseries of the horticulture sector instead of promoting it,” said the president of the Sopore Fruit Mandi.

Growers demand compensation

• Apple trees and vegetables were damaged by hailstorm and rain in Baramulla, Sopore, Wagoora, Rafiabad and Zaingeer on Thursday evening. Nearly two dozen villages in Baramulla were hit by the hailstorm 
• Affected farmers and apple growers have demanded compensation for the losses and requested Governor Satya Pal Malik for a quick assessment of the crop damage