Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 10 Oct: Taking note of the damage caused to farmers’ crops by excessive rainfall and hailstorms in the state over the past few days, Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi has issued necessary instructions to departmental officials. He has directed them to regularly monitor crop damage across the state, conduct field surveys in affected areas and ensure a detailed assessment of the losses. He emphasised that departmental officials must work with utmost seriousness and promptness to provide relief to affected farmers.
Joshi instructed officials to assess the actual extent of damage to agricultural and horticultural crops in the affected areas so that necessary action could be taken to provide assistance to farmers in accordance with the prescribed rules.
Among horticultural crops, damage ranging from 15 to 70 per cent has been reported in the Chaukhutia and Lamgara development blocks of Almora district. In Champawat district, damage exceeding 33 per cent has been recorded in the Champawat, Pati, Lohaghat and Barakot development blocks. Horticultural crops in Haldwani, Kotabag and Ramnagar areas of Nainital district have suffered approximately 10 per cent damage.
Similarly, in the Bahadrabad and Laksar areas of Haridwar district, vegetable crops spread over approximately five hectares have been affected. Around 30 trees have fallen, and three polyhouses have also been damaged. In the Raipur development block of Dehradun district, crop losses have been estimated at approximately 10 to 15 per cent, while losses in Rudraprayag district are estimated at around 20 per cent. In the Ghansali area of Tehri Garhwal district, crop damage has been assessed at approximately 30 per cent. Additionally, crops in the Nainidanda and Rikhnikhal development blocks, under the Kotdwar area of Pauri Garhwal district, have suffered approximately 30 per cent damage.
Under the Kharif 2026 season, agricultural crops across 8,372.31 hectares have been affected by the agricultural disaster. In Udham Singh Nagar district, paddy and sugarcane crops spread over approximately 7,730 hectares in the Bajpur and Gadarpur areas have been affected. In Haridwar district, approximately 600 hectares of agricultural land have been affected in the Bahadrabad, Badshahpur and Jamalpur Nyaya Panchayats, with paddy being the principal affected crop.
Officials informed the minister that damage reports for farmers who had insured their crops have been forwarded to the insurance companies. Preliminary surveys have been completed, while joint surveys involving departmental personnel and the Revenue Department are currently underway.
Agriculture Minister Joshi directed officials to maintain continuous monitoring of the affected areas and ensure that no negligence occurs during the survey process. He stressed that the assessment of crop losses must be carried out diligently so that eligible farmers can receive assistance in accordance with the applicable provisions.
