Extensive damage to standing crops and fruit bearing trees has been reported and around 88,000 hectares area of rabi and kharif crops has been affected by rains and hailstorms.
With Himachal Pradesh receiving rain, snow and hailstorms at regular intervals, apple growers are worried as they are uncertain about the produce. Apple is by far the most important fruit crop of Himachal Pradesh as it covers about 48% the total area under fruit cultivation and about 87% of the total fruit production.
Area under apple has increased from 400 hectares in 1950-51 to 3,025 hectares in 1960-61 and 1,01,485 hectares in 2010-11. Apple production directly affects the livelihood of over 1.6 lakh families in the 9 districts out of the total 12.
An apple grower from Ratnari village of Shimla district, Ashutosh Chauhan, said that late snowfalls and extreme cold conditions had led to fear that the size of apple this time would be smaller which would fetch poor price for them.
A farmer from Gojra village near Manali, Suresh Kumar, said that in April people were experiencing the weather of January. "Cold weather has severely affected the apple produce this season and growers are set to get little from their orchards compared to last year," he said, adding that continuous rain had prevented farmers from spraying apple trees and it would affect the development of the fruit.
According to Shimla Meteorological Centre, a fresh western disturbance would affect the western Himalayan region from April 7 onwards. During last 24 hours maximum temperature decreased by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius in the state. Kalpa in Kinnaur recorded lowest minimum temperature of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius while Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti recorded minimum temperature of 0.6 degrees Celsius.
Chief minister Virbhadra Singh presenting a case of relief to Himachal Pradesh Union health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh on March 31 on account of loss of human lives besides damage to public and private property during the monsoons last August and the ongoing prolonged winter. He told them that state revenue agencies had assessed the loss to the tune of Rs 832.67 crores during the last eight months due to natural calamities.
In March, the state witnessed hailstorms four times which caused lots of damage to the standing crops and fruit-bearing trees. A total loss of Rs 30.04 crore has been estimated in agricultural crops and damage to horticulture crops was around to the tune of Rs 18 crore.
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