Dir Horticulture visits hailstorm affected areas in north Kashmir

Srinagar, May 26: Following the heavy hailstorm that has damaged fruit crops/trees in different areas of Kashmir, Director Horticulture Kashmir, Ghulam Rasool Mir on Friday toured different areas of north Kashmir to take assessment of the affected areas.
Horticulture officials said multiple districts of Kashmir were struck by a heavy hailstorm on May 25 and the unexpected natural calamity has resulted in widespread damage to fruit crops, leading to concerns for the horticultural community.
The Director Horticulture toured the affected areas and personally visited villages of District Baramulla viz. Panzalla, Kangroosa, Chatoosa, Dazna and villages of District Kupwara viz. Harri, Trehgam, Shumnag, Gugloosa and Awoord to assess the extent of the damage caused by the hailstorm, with a particular focus on the severely affected regions of Rafiabad and Trehgam.
Simultaneously, the Joint Director Horticulture, Kashmir Z.A. Bhat, also visited District Budgam to evaluate the impact on fruit crops in that area.
The officials said in an effort to address the crisis, all District Heads and Field Officers were directed to visit affected areas who are actively present in the field and working to assess the damage so that immediate support to affected farmers can be rendered through available possible ways.
After the visit, the Director Horticulture said they visited those areas that have been severely affected by the hailstorm. He took on spot assessment of the damage caused to apple and other standing fruit crops like peach, walnut, cherry etc.
“The upper belts in Baramulla and Kupwara have been severely affected. Our teams are taking assessment and we will flag the matter with a competent authority to address the matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, on-spot instructions and advisories were also promptly issued by the authorities and all the district officers along with their field staff were specifically directed by the Head of the Department to meticulously calculate the extent of the damage caused to the fruit crops.
Officials said the Directorate of Horticulture will continue to monitor the situation closely and in collaboration with other government agencies and stakeholders to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to minimize the impact of hailstorm on the livelihoods of the farmers in the region.