Hailstorm damages apple orchards in south Kashmir

Shopian, July 5: An intense hailstorm on Friday lashed the Heerpora village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, causing significant damage to apple farms.

The farmers from the affected village said the hailstorm lasted for around 7 to 10 minutes, spelling doom for apple orchards.

Jahangir Ahmad, an apple cultivator from the area, said that the hailstones caused substantial damage to both the fruit and leaves.

“The pea-sized hailstones continued for nearly 10 minutes, damaging at least 40 to 45 percent of my crop,” Ahmad said.

Another distressed farmer pegged the damage at 50 percent. Over the last two months, scores of apple-producing villages in the district experienced intense hailstorms.

The apple farmers and traders were already grappling with huge financial losses due to significant price drop, spurred by the imports from the US, Iran, and South Africa.

President Apple Farmers’ Federation of India (AFFI), J&K Chapter, Zahoor Ahmad Rather demanded adequate compensation for the affected farmers. “We once again emphasise the need for crop insurance,” Rather said.