Farmers from 15 villages near Mussoorie, including Sainji, famously called 'the corn village', in Tehri Garhwal district's Jaunpur block, suffered significant losses to their maize crop this year due to heavy rainfall.

Sandeep Sajwan, a resident of Sainji village, where most houses are decorated with corn cobs, reported that 25-30% of the crop was damaged due to heavy rain and storm over the past week.

Villagers said farmers in Sainji, Jethu ki Kandi, Bhatoli, Khadikhal, Banogi, Chaniya, Gaon Ghat, Bhaldiyana, and Ghandiyal villages faced the most damage. "The livelihoods of over 1,000 households have been severely impacted," Sajwan said.

A villager from Jethu ki Kandi added, "This year, due to a lack of rainfall, we delayed sowing our crop to July instead of June, and now, our crops have matured but rain destroyed them."

Ramesh Semwal, the local patwari, said the administration assessed the crop loss to be 33% in Sainji and Jethu ki Kandi. "Nearly 200 farmers in Sainji and around 50 in Jethu Ki Kandi will be provided govt compensation. We will try to release it this month," the patwari said.

Sainji village is popular with tourists who come to see the unique house decor. Residents hang bunches of four corn ears tied with rope made from fibre of the Bhimal tree, creating a picturesque scene.

Source - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com