Kulgam, May 26: Gusty winds accompanied by rain and hailstorm wreaked havoc on standing crops and structures in the Kulgam district of south Kashmir.
Poplar trees were uprooted, and various areas, including Laroo, Kareva, and Mirhama, suffered damage to buildings. Power supply was also disrupted. However, officials say the restoration work is underway.
Locals said that standing crops, and structures suffered damage on Thursday evening after the gusty winds, rain, and hailstorm hit south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
Earlier, the upper areas of Kulgam were hit by a massive hailstorm causing damage to the horticulture sector.
Mohammad Tahir, a resident of Mirhama, told Rising Kashmir that last night’s wind caused severe damage to apple fruit in the area.
“The fruit in this season is beginning to mature. This year we had inclement weather that had caused damage to the apple orchards and now the gusty winds caused severe damage. Our livelihood is all dependent on this industry only,” Tahir said.
The locals requested the higher authorities to provide the orchardists adequate compensation for the loss due to weather calamity.
Bilal Ahmad, Tehsildar Kulgam said the assessment of damage is underway and the Tehsil administration is making sure to reach out the people who have suffered losses due to gusty winds.
“After proper assessment the administration will do needful under rules,” he said.
Imran Nabi Dar, State Spokesperson J&K National Conference said that the gusty winds caused massive damage to standing crops and public infrastructure and demanded the implementation of a Crop Insurance Scheme.
Taking to microblogging site Twitter, Imran said, “Massive damage was caused to standing crops and public infrastructure in Kulgam due to rain, gusty winds, and hail. Requesting DC Kulgam to restore the damaged public infrastructure in the area. To protect growers from such weather vagaries, implementing a Crop insurance scheme in J&K is a must.”
