Kupwara, June 9: A sudden and intense hailstorm accompanied by strong winds caused widespread damage to apple orchards in parts of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Tuesday, devastating fruit crops in Malikpora Langate and Haril Qalamabad and leaving growers staring at heavy losses.
The hailstorm, which lasted for nearly 20 minutes, battered the region with large hailstones, shredding leaves, breaking branches and damaging the young apple crop at a crucial stage of the growing season.
Malikpora in Langate emerged as one of the worst-hit areas, where local residents said apple and other fruit orchards were virtually destroyed within minutes. The ground was left covered in a thick layer of hailstones, resembling an unseasonal snowfall, as the storm stripped trees of foliage and knocked down developing fruit.
Farmers said they watched helplessly as months of hard work were wiped out by the freak weather event. The damage has raised fears of significant income losses for hundreds of orchard-dependent families in the area.
Similar scenes were reported from Haril in Qalamabad, where the hailstorm ravaged apple orchards and severely damaged the developing crop. Growers said the season had shown promising signs before the sudden weather disturbance struck.
With harvest prospects now uncertain, orchardists across the affected areas have expressed concern over the financial impact of the losses and the challenges they may face in recovering from the damage.
Local growers have urged the administration to conduct an immediate assessment of the losses and provide compensation and other relief measures to affected farmers.
The latest weather-related damage has once again highlighted the vulnerability of Kashmir’s horticulture sector, a key source of livelihood for thousands of families across the Valley, to extreme weather events during the fruit-growing season.
https://shorturl.fm/AchqX
https://shorturl.fm/EAlTk