Excessive rain destroys crops across Terai

By Our Correspondents

Dhangadhi/Nepalgunj/Inaruwa, Oct. 13: Continuous rain for several days has caused pre-harvest sprouting of rice crops as the fields have been inundated across the Terai districts from east to west. Farmers of Kailali had faced similar problem last year as well. The continuation of damage and loss has left the farmers in distress.

“The ripened paddy crops couldn’t be harvested due to continuous rains. Since the fields are inundated, the crops have started to sprout in the plant itself,” said Dinesh Chaudhary, a farmer from Ward No. 9 of Kailari Rural Municipality in Kailali.

“We had planned to harvest the crops after Dashain. However, regular rain as soon as the festival ended has spoilt our plans. We are devastated by similar damage for two continuous years,” said Chaudhary.

According to Kailali’s Agriculture Knowledge Centre, major damages to crops have been recorded from Kailari alongside Bhajani Municipality and Tikapur Municipality.

Paddy was planted in around 69,500 hectares of land across Kailali this year.

“We have expected that 10-12 per cent of planted paddy will be destroyed due to the recent conditions. The damage might not be as much as it was last year,” said Khagendra Raj Sharma, chief at Kailai’s Agriculture Knowledge Centre.

Similarly, rice crops planted in over 8,530 hectares of land across Banke district have also been destroyed due to inundation caused by floods.

Nepalgunj-based Agriculture Knowledge Centre said the damage might be more as they are still collecting the data.

“Due to flood and inundation caused by continuous rains, paddy in 2,000 hecatres of land in Rapti-Sonari, 1,700 hectares in Duduwa, 1,300 hectares in Khajura, 1,100 hectares in Janaki, 830 hectares in Baijanath, 750 hecatres in Kohalpur, 400 hecatres in Nepalgunj and 450 hectares in Narainapur have been destroyed,” said acting Chief District Officer of Banke Sakil Ahmad Khan.

Likewise, rice crops and vegetables were damaged across Sunsari due to continuous rain since Tuesday night.

Farmers in Inaruwa, Gadhi, Barju, Koshi, Bhokraha Narsingh, Harinagar and Devangunj areas have been left in distress as their crops were damaged due to inundation. Areas along the bank of the Saptakoshi River have sustained more damage.

Authorities informed that around 25 per cent of paddy planted across Sunsari district has been destroyed. Paddy was planted in around 55,000 hectares of land across Sunsari this year. Similarly, vegetables were cultivated in around 800 hectares of land.

“Paddy plants which were cut to be harvested have disappeared beneath the water which has inundated our fields and the ones left for cutting are going through pre-harvest sprouting,” said Rabin Poddar, a farmer from Ward No. 10 of Inaruwa Municipality. 

Local farmer Surendra Sardar informed that cauliflowers planted in over 10 bighas of land were also destroyed.