Srinagar, May 23 (KNO): Fresh spells of intense hailstorms and strong winds have wreaked havoc across major horticulture belts of Kashmir, causing extensive damage to fruit orchards in north and south Kashmir and pushing thousands of orchardists deeper into financial distress.
The latest hailstorm, which struck on Friday evening, lashed several villages of Sopore and Rafiabad in Baramulla district, besides parts of Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district and some areas of Shopian, leaving behind scenes of devastation in orchards considered the backbone of the Valley’s rural economy.
The growers told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the hailstorm continued for several minutes with such intensity that developing apples began falling from trees instantly, while fruit-bearing branches suffered severe damage at a crucial stage of the fruit season.
The worst-hit areas in Rafiabad included Watergam, Lassar, Dandiwacha, Dandoosa, Hadipora and adjoining villages, where orchards turned white under heavy hail accumulation. Similar damage was reported from several horticulture zones of Sopore, Bandipora and parts of Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
This was the third major hailstorm to hit many of these districts in recent weeks and the second consecutive spell to batter Rafiabad, compounding the losses already caused by severe weather on April 18 and May 12 this year.
Fruit growers said the repeated weather disasters have shattered hopes for this season’s harvest and created panic among thousands of families solely dependent on horticulture for survival.
“We had already suffered huge losses earlier this month, and now whatever was left has also been destroyed. Months of hard work and heavy investment vanished within minutes,” said an orchardist from Watergam.
Another grower from Sopore said the continuous hailstorms have made survival difficult for marginal orchardists who rely entirely on income generated from apple orchards to manage household expenses, the education of children and repayment of bank loans.
Earlier this week, several other horticulture belts of Baramulla district, including Sangrama, Wagura, Kreeri, Pattan, Kandi and Tangmarg, had also witnessed widespread destruction in orchards following severe hailstorms accompanied by gusty winds.
The repeated damage has triggered growing concern among horticulturists and traders, who warned that the fragile rural economy of Kashmir could face serious consequences if immediate relief measures are not taken.
The Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union, an elected umbrella body representing fruit growers’ associations across the Valley, strongly condemned what it termed as the government’s “slow response” in assessing the losses suffered by orchardists.
The union said that despite massive destruction caused by hailstorms and storms during April and May, official teams had yet to conduct comprehensive damage assessments in many affected areas across Kashmir.
The growers’ body stated that horticulture remains the backbone of Jammu and Kashmir’s economy, with lakhs of people directly or indirectly dependent on the sector for livelihood and employment. However, repeated natural calamities coupled with the absence of a Crop Insurance Scheme and Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) are pushing orchardists into mounting debt.
The union emphasised that nearly 90 per cent of fruit growers in Kashmir are marginal orchardists who depend entirely on seasonal earnings from orchards to sustain their families.
“Whenever orchards are damaged due to natural disasters, these poor growers face severe hardships with no financial security mechanism available,” the union said in a statement.
The growers reiterated their long-pending demand for inclusion of Kashmir’s horticulture sector under a comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme so that growers receive financial assistance during natural calamities. It also sought immediate restoration of the Market Intervention Scheme to safeguard growers from economic collapse during crises.
The union appealed to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to announce a substantial compensation package for orchardists affected by the devastating hailstorms of April and May 2026.
Growers warned that if timely intervention is not made, repeated weather-related disasters may severely impact Kashmir’s horticulture industry, which contributes significantly to the region’s economy and employment sector—(KNO)