JOIN USFruit crops spread around 1,100 hectares have suffered widespread damage as a result of the recent wind and hailstorm in Kashmir, an official said on Saturday.
“As per the rough estimates, the fruit crops over 1,100 hectares of area have suffered extensive loss due to wind and hailstorm in Shopian district a couple of days back,” an official spokesman said after a high-level meeting chaired by horticulture minister Sham Lal Sharma.
The meeting was convened by the state’s minister in Shopian district on Friday to take stock of the situation arising out of natural calamity and work out compensation to those affected, the spokesman said.
The minister directed the concerned authorities to immediately undertake a detailed survey to assess the losses suffered by the fruit growers in the district.
“The minister issued specific instructions to the officers to complete the survey
within next 3-4 days so that compensation to the sufferers is worked out accordingly,” the spokesman said.
He said Lal also directed the director horticulture, Kashmir, to personally monitor the process and submit the details of loss in the next week. Meanwhile, the minister asked the horticulture department to initiate fruit crop insurance so that farmers could be saved from the frequent losses caused by natural calamities.