Dhangadi, March 14

Hailstorm followed by heavy rain yesterday and today destroyed seasonal crops in different places of Kailali.

The hailstorm destroyed wheat, fruits, and vegetables, among other seasonal crops in the district.

According to Kailali District Agriculture Development Office, the hailstorm destroyed maximum seasonal crops in Dhangadi Sub-metropolis and Patharaiya VDC.

It also destroyed crops at Attariya, Tikapur, Bhajani, Hasuliya and Sukhad, among other VDCs of the district.

Local farmers have been disheartened after their crops were destroyed due to the hailstorm.

Bhagiram Chaudhary, chairman of Jawalpur Multipurpose Cooperative, said local farmers were worried due to the sudden storm followed by rain.

He said the local farmers had started vegetable farming through the cooperative in 12 hectare land.

All the crops were completely destroyed. According to him, crops at Amarawati, Khairiphanta, Jawalpur, Bhoksi, Amauri, Pahadipur, Durgauli, Dharmapur and Taureyapur, among other places of Patharaiya, were also destroyed.

Information officer of Kailali DADO, Kailali Khem Raj Joshi, said the hailstorm had mostly destroyed vegetables and fruits along with other seasonal crops in 17 to 18 bigaha land in Patharaiya. “We are yet to ascertain the exact amount of destroyed crops in other places of the district,” he added.

Similarly, the hailstorm also destroyed seasonal crops at Boradandi in Dhangadi.

Local Ram Saran Chaudhary of Kailai Village said the hailstorm had destroyed crops at a time when they were just about ripen.

Another veggie farmer Dilli Raj Joshi of Boradandi said seasonal vegetables like chilli and cauliflower cultivated in over one bigaha land were destroyed.

“The hailstorm destroyed everything on the land as I can see only the remains of the vegetables,’ he added.