Devastating Storm Wreaks Havoc on Rautahat Farmers, Destroying Banana and Maize Crops

Rautahat. A devastating storm that struck Monday night has left farmers in Rautahat heartbroken. The high-speed gale, which lasted for about two hours, caused extensive property damage in the northern region of the district. Farmers are in dire straits, especially after the storm completely flattened banana plantations in the Gaidatar area of Chandrapur Municipality and maize crops in surrounding areas.

According to locals, banana plants that were nearing harvest were either uprooted or snapped midway. The destruction of commercial banana cultivation spread over hundreds of bighas has turned farmers' investments worth lakhs into dust. Local Kajiman Majhi stated that farmers who dreamed of harvesting their nearly ripe crops are now left in a state of despair, looking at the fallen plants.

The impact of the storm was equally severe on the maize crop. The gale caused significant damage to maize planted in various wards of Chandrapur, Brindawan, Gujara, and Fatuwa Vijaypur Municipalities.

With maize stalks falling during the crucial cob-forming stage, a sharp decline in production this year is certain. Preliminary estimates suggest that maize crops in an area of about 200 bighas in Brindawan Municipality-1 alone have been destroyed. Local farmer Premshankar Yadav lamented that nature betrayed them just as they were about to reap the harvest, after nurturing the crops while dealing with fertilizer shortages and weather uncertainties.

Saroj Mandal, Information Officer at the Agriculture Knowledge Center Rautahat, confirmed widespread damage to crops due to the storm. He stated that the process of collecting complete damage reports from all areas is underway, and the initial reports indicate substantial losses for the farmers.

Farmers are expressing anger, stating that although natural disasters cause hardship every year, the lack of adequate compensation and relief from the state is pushing them towards abandoning agriculture altogether in this region.