Danishwar Hameed
The Kulgam district of south Kashmir witnessed significant damage to its apple orchards following a severe hailstorm accompanied by gusty winds on Monday afternoon.
The agriculture sector in the region, which contributes approximately 18,000 crores annually to Jammu Kashmir’s GDP, has been reeling from losses for the past five years. This latest calamity has left many farmers in despair, with some describing the storm as a “sight of hell.”
According to a report compiled by officials and confirmed to The Kashmiriyat, at least 29 villages involving the areas of Arreh, Kadder, and Qazigund zones of Kulgam were particularly hard-hit.
The damage to fruit crops ranges from 5% to 25%, with several areas, including Kadder, Jogipora, and Check e Hanjan, experiencing the worst of the storm’s fury.
At Kadder, a farmer, Bashir Ahmed, lamented, “I have been tending to these orchards for decades, and this storm has uprooted trees that were the pride of my farm. Houses have been damaged, and cars were not spared either. It’s a disaster we’ve never seen before.”
The hailstorm, which lasted only 10 to 15 minutes, caused extensive damage, particularly to apple trees that were almost in their harvesting season.
In the Arreh zone, villages like Nillow, Sehpora, and Bumrath reported damages between 15% and 20%, leaving farmers with almost nothing to salvage from their already meager yield.
“The last five years have been a nightmare,” said Ghulam Hassan, another local farmer from the Kadder zone. “Each year, we face one disaster after another, and now this. We appeal to the government to provide immediate compensation; otherwise, our livelihoods are at stake.”
The agriculture sector in Jammu Kashmir is also a significant employer, providing jobs to around 70 per cent of the population. The continuous losses in this sector are pushing many to the brink of financial ruin.
“We are left with nothing again,” said Abdul Rashid, a farmer from the Qazigund zone, where villages like Kund and Churath experienced 5% to 10% damage. “The government needs to step in and help us rebuild. Without compensation, we won’t survive.”
The Chief Horticulture Officer of Kulgam confirmed the damage assessment and expressed concern over the repeated losses the agriculture sector has been suffering.