Hundreds of thousands of farm animals have been swept away. In 14 districts, over 114,000 acres of farms and orchards have been completely destroyed. Rice plantations have suffered the most. Approximately 45,000 acres of rice harvest has been gutted, over 23,000 acres of sago harvest, 1,500 acres of paddy plantations, 17,700 acres of coconut trees, 1,300 coconut plantations and 10,000 acres of vegetable harvest have been washed away. Around 75,000 pepper vines, 27,000 rubber trees, 15,000 nutmeg plants, 12,000 cocoa trees, 9,000 areca nut trees, 3,000 coconut trees and 1,455 coffee plants have been damaged due to the floods.
In Himachal Pradesh, damaged roads give sleepless nights to Kullu apple growers, now that landslides are turning the transport of fruit to the market a real headache. Kullu Fruit Growers Association president, Rajgir Mahant: " It is peak apple harvesting season and the frequent blocking of roads is annoying growers. … While link and district roads are getting blocked after heavy rains, many have been washed away by cloudbursts and floods.”
Source: freepressjournal.in
