Double whammy leaves farmers high ‘n’ dry

• Weak monsoon, fertiliser shortage cloud Ashar 15 celebrations • Paddy plantation rate nosedives



Millions of peasants across the country, particularly in the western and central regions, marked the National Rice Day, ‘Ashar 15’ in misery, thanks to the dry spell and an acute shortage of chemical fertilisers.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Development (MoAD), paddy plantation rate as of June-end hovers around 9 percent. The rate during the same period last year was 17 percent.

MoAD statistics show that the plantation rates in the mountains, Hills and Tarai are 27, 14 and 6 percent respectively.

This year’s monsoon was delayed by a week, while it has so far covered around 50 percent of the total area of the country. The Far-West has received the least amount of rainfall at around 35 percent, while the Eastern Region has received the highest of 85 percent than the normal for this month. The mood of farmers across the country was that of gloom.

“There is no mood for (Ashar 15) celebrations among the farmers. The delay in the arrival of the monsoon has left the fields dry, affecting timely plantation of paddy,” said Nanda Raj Joshi, a farmer of Malakheti in Kailali district in the Far-West. The District Agriculture Office, Kailali, has reported only seven percent paddy plantation so far in the district. Normally, the plantation of summer crops, including paddy, starts soon after the arrival of the monsoon in the second week of June.

The situation in Palpa is no different. Paddy plantation has not begun in the Madifat, Rampur, Kachal and Argali areas there.

10 dead in Tanahun, Baglung landslides

Ten persons were buried to death in landslides in Tanahun and Baglung district on Thursday night.

A landslide triggered by heavy rains hit the house of Sai Bahadur Sunar at Jamune VDC in Tanahun, killing two women and five minor girls. The site is about 10 km north-west of the district headquarters, Damauli.

The dead have been identified as Rupa Sunar (24) and her daughters Purnima (8) and Dibya (6); Sushma BK (17) and her 14-month-old daughter Rekha, Samjhana BK (15) and Durga BK (15).

The villagers came to know of the incident only on Friday morning when Chijmaya, a neighbour and a relative of the victims, went to the house.

“I went there after they failed to show up at the fields in the morning. The door was locked. I peeped in through the front window and saw them buried under the debris of the back wall if the house that had collapsed,” said Chijmaya.

A police team reached the site at around 9 am and fished out the bodies. They were then taken to Tanahun District Hospital for post-mortem.

The house belonging to the poor Dalit family was built three months ago on a slope. Sai Bahadur went to India for work after he constructed the house.

The District Administration Office provided Rs 40,000 for each of the dead to the next of kin of the victims. In Baglung, three persons died when a landslide buried the house of Tek Bahadur Khatri at Hatiya-3. Khatri’s wife Pabitra, Laxmi Sunar of Resh Village Development Committee in the district and her three-year-old son Sudip were buried to death in the incident.