Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, May 13: A severe hailstorm wreaked havoc on several villages of Shopian district on Saturday, causing significant damage to orchards.
According to locals, the hailstorm hit several areas of the district causing damage to the fruit on which thousands of families in the area are dependent.
They said that hail storm hit dozens of villages of Shopian including Sedow, Heerpora, Amshipora, Jamnagri, Ramnagri, Padpawan and Borihelen areas of the district and it continued for around 15-20 minutes due to which there was significant damage to the fruit.
They demanded that the government must assess the damage and compensate the affected growers.
Soon after the hailstorm, horticulture department officials visited different villages to assess the damage and guide the growers.
A horticulture officer said that several teams of the department are on the ground to ascertain the severity of the damage.
He advised the growers of hailstorm hit areas that once weather will improve, they must spray urea water to the fruit followed by a fungicide.
Notably last week, a hailstorm wreaked havoc in Kaprin and Harmain belt of the district along with parts of Kulgam and Anantnag.
