Sikkim: Double Whammy for Farmers after Heavy Hailstorm Damages Crops amid Lockdown

Gangtok, April 10, 2020:

Sikkim farmers are facing extreme hardship after a heavy hailstorm made its way and damaged the new crops completely.

In East Sikkim, as many as four constituencies were badly hit - Rumtek, Namcheybong, Rhenock and Chujachen.

Cultivation of cabbages, cardamom, orange and buckwheat have been severely damaged due to the heavy hailstorm on Thursday evening.

Rawtey Rumtek, along with other areas of the East Sikkim district received a high intensity hailstorm which damaged the crops of two or three wards completely.

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Officials of the Agriculture and Horticulture department visited the area to take stock of the damaged areas and made an assessment of the damages. They said they would send the report and try to provide something to the farmers to compensate their loss.

It may be mentioned here that the hailstorm added to the sufferings of the farmers who were already reeling under the lockdown phase following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

They have sought a minimum support price from the State Government to recover the loss.

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"We had done inter-cropping here but all of these have gone in vain. This was worth Rs 50,000. Now we will not get even Rs 50 from this. I request the Government to help us. We have been engaged in agriculture since ages but now due to COVID-19 we have not been able to get anything out of it. The hailstorm added to it. I hope the Government provides us with the minimum price for this," said a local farmer.

It may be mentioned here that heavy rain and storm damaged several houses, schools and shops in Assam as well.

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