Saturday’s dust storm hits Uttar Pradesh mango cultivators hard
15 Jun 2015 12:20 AM GMT
The mango-growers have claimed that the unprecedented storm has damaged more than 50 per cent of the crop spread over nearly seven lakh hectares in as many as 21 districts of the state. The farmers fear that the vagaries of nature will not only affect supply but will send the prices of mangoes rocketing to the sky.
“Nearly 50 <g data-gr-id="33">per cent</g> mango, which were at the stage of plucking, has been destroyed because of the fury of nature in the form of squall and unprecedented rain in different parts of the state. It’s a setback for thousands of <g data-gr-id="34">mango-growers</g> of the region which were already suffering due to <g data-gr-id="51">earlier</g> stint of untimely rains, hailstorm and <g data-gr-id="35">thunder-showers</g>. Last time it destroyed nearly 70 per cent flowering of mangoes and now it damaged the standing crop,” said <g data-gr-id="36">Duhyant</g> <g data-gr-id="37">Naagar</g>, a farmers’ rights activist.
The <g data-gr-id="38">mango-growers</g> of Saharanpur, Shahjahanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Amroha, Malihabad, Moradabad, Amroha and several other districts have estimated that the losses to be about 50 per cent and above.
“Mango orchards in the state cover a vast area with the annual output being 38 to 40 lakh tonnes.
Apart from Indian markets there is a huge demand in European and Gulf countries with <g data-gr-id="46">export</g> of eight to ten lakh tonnes every season,” said Dharmendra Malik, a <g data-gr-id="32">mango-grower</g> from Muzaffarnagar.
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