Shopian, Aug 15 (KNO): A devastating spell of hailstorm, heavy rainfall and gusty winds has caused extensive damage to apple orchards and other standing crops across several areas of Shopian and Kulgam districts, leaving growers facing what they describe as one of the worst agricultural losses in recent years.
According to details obtained by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the affected areas in Shopian include Feeripora, Mandujan, Pudsoo, Batagund, Kaprin, Rakhpora and adjoining villages, while in Kulgam damage was reported in Nihama, Samnoo, Rambhama, Chogalpora, Bathipora, Adijan, Gopalpora and Ladgoo areas of Kulgam.
In several of the worst-hit villages, growers claimed that 100 per cent of the standing apple crop has been damaged.
Director Horticulture Kashmir Vikas Anand, along with senior departmental officials and Zainapora MLA Showkat Hussain Ganie, visited the affected areas and took stock of the situation on the ground.
During the visit, affected growers apprised the officials about the magnitude of the losses and urged the administration to undertake a comprehensive assessment of every affected orchard and provide compensation commensurate with the actual damage.
The growers said the damage has come after they had already invested huge amounts of money in their orchards on pesticides, fungicides, fertilisers, labour, pruning and other essential inputs.
“We have spent lakhs of rupees throughout the season on pesticides, fungicides, fertilisers, labour and other orchard activities. We were waiting for the harvest to recover these expenses, but everything has been destroyed within minutes,” said an affected grower.
Another orchardist said that nominal compensation would not help families who have lost almost an entire year's income.
“If the government comes again with a compensation of a few thousand rupees after we have suffered losses worth lakhs, it will be like rubbing salt into our wounds. We need compensation according to the actual loss, not symbolic relief,” he said.
The growers demanded full and adequate compensation, saying that their families are almost entirely dependent on horticulture for their livelihood. “For us, the orchard is our livelihood. It pays for our children's education, household expenses, labour payments and other needs. If the crop is destroyed, there is no alternative source of income,” another grower said.
The affected orchardists also demanded that their Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans be waived, arguing that many growers had taken loans to meet the high input costs associated with apple cultivation.
“We have borrowed money and invested it in our orchards. Now there is no crop from which we can repay the loans. The government should at least waive our KCC loans so that affected families are not pushed further into debt,” the growers said.
Speaking during the visit, MLA Zainapora said at least nine villages in his constituency had suffered almost 100 per cent crop damage and deserved proper compensation, adding that the magnitude of the damage required a serious response from the government and that affected growers should not be left to deal with the losses on their own.
Ganie said the crop insurance scheme is presently at the tendering stage and would soon be implemented for a period of three years, which would provide some security to growers against natural calamities.
On protection against hailstorms, the MLA said the government is already providing a 50 per cent subsidy on anti-hail nets and urged orchardists to avail themselves of the facility. Regarding the demand for KCC loan waiver, he said he would take up the matter with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other authorities.
Welcoming the government's subsidy proposal, growers demanded that it be increased to 100 per cent, particularly for farmers in areas repeatedly hit by hailstorms, saying small and marginal orchardists often cannot afford the remaining cost. They demanded immediate implementation of crop insurance for apple and cherry, urging the administration to conduct village-wise and orchard-wise assessment rather than relying on general estimates.
The affected orchardists said officials should document fruit drop, damage to trees and standing crops before arriving at compensation figures, adding that the recent disaster had shattered the expectations of thousands of families.
The growers further demanded that the government formulate a long-term disaster management mechanism for horticulture-prone areas, including stronger weather warning systems and affordable protective infrastructure—(KNO)