Incessant rainfall in the last few days has caused crop damage and put farmers of Kailashahar subdivision in Tripura under heavy distress. The downpour has affected several crops, especially vegetable crops in the sub-division. Expecting a turnaround in market demand, farmers of the sub-division put their money in cultivating vegetable crops, however, rains have severely hit Kharif crops including vegetables, local farmers alleged and expressed fear that the unabated downpour might affect upcoming Rabi season cultivation.

“Rains have aggrieved farmers’ woes. Already we are under pressure due to Covid19 pandemic and rain god has destroyed all the hopes”, commented Ratan Das. He and other farmers like Kanu Malakar, Suman Das of the sub-division claimed around 3-4 kani croplands were damaged due to recent rains.

“Almost all the farmers have suffered crop damage due to the heavy downpour. In some areas, farmlands have been inundated making upcoming Rabi cultivation uncertain”, Suman said.

Farmers of Kumarghat under Kailashahar sub-division had sown cucumber, radish, green chilies and other such vegetable crops. “We borrowed money for cultivation as we are expecting good demand for vegetables. However, rains at this time, jeopardized everything. Now the farmers are suffering from the dual woes of not being able to pay back their debts and not making any profits either. We are fore seeing a bleak future”, Suman said narrating plight of the farmers.

Local farmers of Machmara area said that it costs around Rs 6,000-10,000 per acre to cultivate the vegetables. The crops grown per acre are expected to be sold at Rs 30,000-50,000 in the market. This would accrue a profit of around Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 per acre for the farmers.

Official sources also admitted that crops in around 9-15 hectares have been damaged till now but they could not give an exact figure without scrutinizing the fields.

In view of the present situation, affected farmers appealed for the state government’s attention towards their plight and assistance to overcome the financial losses.