Bhairahawa, May 14

A sudden storm last night wreaked havoc in Rupandehi, blowing away the roofs of houses and huts. Electricity and telephone, among other services, were obstructed in the district.

The storm damaged seasonal fruits such as banana, mango and litchi.

Om Prakash Yadav, a farmer of Maya Devi Rural Municipality said the damage was worth millions of rupees. “We had spent a huge amount of money on growing bananas, but the storm destroyed everything within a few minutes,” he complained, asking how he could pay loans from the bank and friends.

Yadav, along with his friends, had started banana plantation in five bigaha land at the rural municipality. He said they had to pay Rs 80,000 per bigaha as rent every month.

The storm also damaged dozens of banana plantations in Siyari Rural Municipality and Tilottama Municipality. Similarly, the rainfall damaged bricks worth millions in the district.

Staneshwor Ghimire of Lumbini Brick Entrepreneurs Association said entrepreneurs were worried after the destruction on their investment. Meanwhile, Assistant Chief District Officer Shambhu Regmi said no human casualty was reported though some physical destruction has taken place in the district.