33% of total Rabi crops damage for want of rains in Himachal Pradesh

About one third of the total Rabi crops have been damaged in Himachal Pradesh for want of adequate rains. Hamirpur district tops the list with a loss of 2857.78 lakh rupees. A spokesman of the Department of Agriculture said that the total loss to crops till date was around 9,462 lakh rupees.
He said that maximum damage had been caused in six out of twelve districts of the state.
However, there was no damage to crops in the districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti.
He said that in Himachal Pradesh, the effect of not raining on time is visible. Rabi crops up to 33 per cent have been destroyed in five districts namely Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi, Shimla and Sirmaur.
Crop damage was below 33 per cent in the other five districts. This has been revealed in the report of field officers from across the state.
Rainfed areas have been hit the most by the weather. The crops of wheat, barley and peas have been affected due to lack of rain.
Rabi crops are sown in total 4, 01,853 hectares of land in 10 districts of the state. Out of this, 15 to 33 percent of crops have been damaged in 85538.20 hectares of land. The maximum loss of Rs 2857.78 lakh has been done in Hamirpur.
State Agriculture Director Dr. Rajesh Kaushik said that these were the areas where farmers were completely dependent on rain for irrigation.
He advised farmers to take care of their crops and consult the agricultural experts how to save the crops from being damaged fully.