Bajura, May 6

Heavy rainfall and hailstones today destroyed winter crops, including wheat and buckwheat and vegetables and fruits in Bajura.

Bajura has witnessed continuous rainfall along with hailstones for the last one-and-a-half week.

Harka Baduwal, a farmer at Badimalika Municipality, said the rainfall and hailstone today was much heavier compared to previous days. He said local farmers were sad after hailstones destroyed their crops, vegetables and fruits.

Ward No 7 Chair Dharma Raj Padhya in Badimalika Municipality said hailstones destroyed seasonal crops in almost all areas of the district.

Rana Saud, another farmer, asked how farmers could manage their families with hailstones destroying seasonal crops. “On the one hand, the COVID-19 outbreak is taking a toll on farming activities, on the other, nature has destroyed their livelihood,” he added. He said farmers would have harvested wheat and buckwheat in two to three days, but hailstones had destroyed them on the field.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 7, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.