Hailstorm damages crops in Shopian, Pulwama villages

Shopian, May 4: A brief spell of hailstorm on Sunday lashed several villages of south Kashmir’s Shopian and Pulwama district, causing  damage to apple and other crops.  At around 5 pm, the hailstorm hit multiple apple-rich villages including  Dachnoo Heerpora, Cheki Mirzapora and  Cheki Ramnagri in Shopian district. The farmers from the affected areas told Greater Kashmir that the hailstorm lasted for 3 to 5  minutes, causing  damage to apple farms in the area.

Rayees Ahmad, a farmer from Chaki Mirzapora said that the hailstorm caused 10 to 12 percent damage to the crop. According to the farmer, the pea-sized hailstones caused damage to the leaves and fruit. It is the second spell of hailstorm in the area since last month.

On April 18, an intense hailstorm lashed hundreds of apple orchards in more than 58 villages of the district, wreaking havoc on thousands of apple orchards.  In the neighbouring Pulwama district, hailstorm wreaked havoc on apple, peach and pear orchards. Farmers from Syedabaad, Gudpora, Aripal and surrounding villages said that hailstones caused damage to apple, peach and pear fruits in these villages.  According to the farmers, the hailstorm lasted for more than five minutes.

Javed Ahmad, a farmer from Syabaad, pegged the damage at 15 percent. He said that the actual loss could not be assessed immediately. The farmers in both the affected villages have called for immediate evaluation of loss and demanded adequate compensation. An official from the Department of Horticulture said that they had received the reports about the hailstorm, but the extent of damage was not immediately known.