The Horticulture Department has pegged the damage caused to apple and other fruits in April and May due to snowfall and hailstorm at Rs 280 crore. “In April, the growers suffered crop losses to the tune of Rs 254 crore. In May, our teams have estimated losses of around Rs 25 crore to Rs 26 crore,” said Horticulture Director JP Sharma. “We are still waiting for a few more reports from Kinnaur district. Otherwise, this is our final assessment of the damage caused,” he said. Apple, in particular, besides other fruits suffered massive damage due to heavy and untimely snowfall on April 23 in the higher reaches of Shimla and Kinnaur districts. Under the huge weight of 6 to 8 inches of snow, the anti-hail nets collapsed, and many trees were damaged or uprooted. Following the snowfall, many areas continued to receive hailstorm, causing more damage. “We have submitted the report to the state government. Now, the government will decide on the compensation and its modalities,” the Director said. He added that the huge losses would impact the overall production this time. “Our normal capacity is around 10 lakh metric tonnes. Although we don’t have the exact estimate as of now, the production will certainly be hit this time,” he said. The growers, however, say that the losses suffered by them are much more than the government estimates. “If the government is assessing the damage close to Rs 300 crore through its conservative estimates, one can imagine the actual losses,” said Lokender Bisht, president of the Progressive Growers Association. “The state will need to seek a relief package from the Central Government to offer a substantial relief to the growers,” he added. Bisht said that the growers suffer crop damage due to hailstorms and other factors every year, and bear losses without complaining. “This time, the nature of losses is different. Trees were damaged, and several of them were uprooted. An apple tree in higher reaches takes 10 to 15 years to start bearing fruits. Many orchards have lost up to 30 per cent of their production capacity,” he said. With the damage report submitted to the government, the growers are now expecting a quick and substantial relief. “The relief, whether from the Centre or the state, should be quick and substantial so that the growers feel that the government is standing with them in this hour of crisis,” said Harish Chauhan, president of the Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers Growers Association. Source - https://www.tribuneindia.com