Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 3: Stating that heavy hailstorm last evening has wrecked havoc to the fruit crop in several parts of the Valley, particularly in Khansahib, Budgam , Chairman People’s Democratic Front ( PDF ) Hakeem Yaseen has urged Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to sanction adequate relief to the affected farmers immediately.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Hakeem Yaseen said that high intensity hailstorm occurred yesterday evening in many areas of the Kashmir valley including Khansahib Budgam, causing extensive damage to the fruit crop thereby inflicting heavy financial losses on the fruit growers. He said that the damage caused to the fresh fruit due to the hailstorm has given another serious below to the livelihood of the farming community whose financial conditions were already under tremendous stress from last year post August 5, situation. He said untimely snow fall in November last year had already broken the back of fruit growers and traders while fresh hailstorm has added to their miseries.
Hakeem Yaseen urged the Government to come to the rescue of the affected farmers and fruit growers of the valley and waive off their KCC loans immediately so that they can have a sigh of relief to some extent. He asked the Government to depute joint teams of Horticulture and Revenue Departments to various hailstorm hit areas in the Kashmir valley to give technical guidance to the farmers and also to assess the quantum of losses so that relief and compensation measures are worked out accordingly in favour of the hailstorm affected fruit growers. “While Kissan Credit Card (KCC) loan waiver would give respite to the affected fruit growers to some extent, they should also be provided free fertilizers, hybrid seeds and other agriculture inputs so that they could carry alternate farm practices,” Hakeem Yaseen added.
PDF Chairman has said that the farming community especially fruit growers and traders have become the first causality of the unfavorable conditions in the state , post August 5 ,2019 situation , followed by untimely snow fall in November last and now due to adverse effects of the countrywide Coronavirus lockdown . He said the fruit traders are bearing the brunt of prevailing lockdown, as they were unable to sell their fruit consignments placed in various cold stores of the country and got perished in the stores.
Hakeem Yaseen said that it was the paramount duty of the government to come to the rescue of the fruit growers of the valley who are passing through a difficult phase of financial crisis.
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