The hailstorm , gusty winds and heavy rainfall wreck havoc across several parts of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday afternoon.

The hailstorm damaged  apple orchards, paddy fields besides cherry crop badly. The apple growers believe loss is worth crores of rupees.

The severely affected places include apple rich Rafiabad, Kandi belt, Sopore  and peripheries of Baramulla town. In Rafiabad area, the hailstorm was intense and lasted for around five minutes. The intense hailstorm was followed by torrential rain which created extreme panic in the affected areas.

“The hail size was around 100 grams which inflicted bruises on the apple crop. At some places, it damaged the apple tree branches,” said Muhammad iqbal, a fruit grower from Rafiabad.

The Rafiabad area of Baramulla district produces the maximum apple fruit. The devastation caused by the hailstorm has left the orchardists here shocked. “It was like dooms day for us,” said Aijaz Ahmad, a resident of Ladu Ladoora, a village in Rafiabad.

The hailstorm also caused huge damage to the apple crop in Kandi belt of the Baramulla district. The affected villages include Wagoora, Kreeri, Rajpora, Khaipora, Walraman and several other villages.

In Wagoora and Kreeri area of the district, the hailstorm caused huge damage to orchards. The hailstorm was followed by gusty winds which resulted in damage to apple trees. The distressed apple growers said that the hailstorm has resulted in the severe dent to economic prospect of the apple fruit.

They said the bruises caused by the hails over the surface of the apple has turned their apple crop from grade one to grade C, means the fruit will not fetch them the desired revenue which will be huge catastrophe for the growers.

“The damage caused by the hailstorm will effect the economic prospect of the apple crop. The affected fruit growers have suffered huge loss, which is irreparable,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a fruit grower from Pachhar.

Source - https://www.greaterkashmir.com