Photo: Narad Kohar/TRN Paddy flattened by rain and strong winds.
By Our Correspondent, Taulihawa/Ghorahi, Sept. 28: Continuous rain and strong winds have damaged ripening paddy crops in Dang and Kapilvastu districts of Lumbini Province as farmers prepare to harvest their crops.
The rain accompanied by strong winds has flattened paddy that had ripened in the fields and was ready for harvesting, making it difficult for farmers to protect their crops.
In the Deukhuri area of Dang, paddy ready for harvesting has been flattened and soaked in the fields due to strong winds and rain.
Tek Bahadur Chhetri, a farmer from Khaireni in Gadawa Rural Municipality-1, said the paddy that had already ripened was flattened by strong winds and rain on Friday night.
“The rain is continuing, so we cannot even harvest and store the paddy. The rain accompanied by strong winds has flattened and soaked the crop in the fields,” he said.
Farmers said crops in various areas of Gadawa and Rapti rural municipalities had also been damaged after rain hit the region during the harvesting season. They said continuous rainfall had made it difficult to harvest and dry the flattened paddy immediately.
In Kapilvastu, rain and strong winds have also flattened ripening paddy in various local levels. Farmers said paddy had been flattened in the northern parts of Banganga, Kapilvastu, Buddhabhumi and Shivaraj municipalities, as well as in various areas of Shuddhodhan, Mayadevi and Yashodhara rural municipalities.
Radheshyam Barai, a farmer from Kapilvastu Municipality-11, said he had planted an early-maturing variety of paddy, which had already ripened when strong winds and rain flattened it.
According to him, a large area of paddy fields was affected by Friday night’s rain and strong winds.
Farmer Nandani Yadav said she was worried after the paddy she had produced by taking loans to buy fertiliser, seeds and arrange irrigation was damaged.
“We somehow managed to cultivate the crop, but now the ripened paddy itself is at risk of being destroyed,” she said. According to Ramasurat Pal, information officer at the Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Kapilvastu, early-planted paddy in various parts of the district has suffered greater damage.
He said varieties including Hybrid, Sampurna, Radha-4, 312 and 6444 had already ripened and were flattened by the strong winds.
He said the centre would coordinate with local governments to collect details of the damage and initiate the necessary process. Around 66,907 hectares of land have been cultivated with paddy in Kapilvastu this year.
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