Hailstorm destroys bananas, 16 lakh loss
All banana plants in the affected plots were destroyed, including those nearing harvest.
KATHMANDU: A severe three-day hailstorm has devastated banana plantations in Jhapa Rural Municipality–7, destroying two bigha of crops belonging to farmer Kishanchandra Basnet.
According to Anju Acharya, Assistant Crop Protection Officer at the Agricultural Knowledge Center in Jhapa, all banana plants in the affected plots were destroyed, including those nearing harvest.
Basnet had planted bananas on 30 bigha of land, but 3,200 plants on two bigha were wiped out, resulting in an estimated loss of Rs 1.6 million.
He lamented the repeated blows from natural disasters, noting that his previous banana plantation suffered nearly Rs 10 million in damages during continuous rains and floods on Oct 4–5 last year.
“After struggling to replant on land damaged by floods, the hailstorm has completely destroyed the new growth,” Basnet said, adding that he has yet to receive relief for prior losses. “It feels as if natural disasters only target me,” he remarked.
