Cyclone Sitrang batters paddy crops across Ukhrul
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang

Ukhrul, October 28 2022: The recent heavy rainstorms triggered by Cyclone Sitrang left behind a trail of destruction across Ukhrul district, causing massive damages to standing paddy crops in different villages.

Reports of extensive damages to standing paddy crops caused by the recent rainstorms have come in from different villages including Pushing, Tusom and Chahong Khunou.

According to Masotmi Horam, a farmer in New Tusom village, heavy rainstorms in the past few days swelled the Chalou River resulting in breaching of the embankment put up by farmers of different 'Luirups' as well as inundation of stretches of agricultural lands shared by a group of farmers.

This further led to uprooting and flattening of the standing paddy crops, he said, adding that among the affected Luirups, Sikhong Luirup is the biggest and is being shared by around 105 farmers.

With the massive devastation caused to paddy crops, poor farmers fear that the crop yield this year might be reduced by around 25 per cent.

Tusom village in northern Ukhrul is well-known for its production of delicious rice.

Uteipi variety is said to be the most common rice planted by the villagers.

In a similar natural disaster, various paddy fields have been destroyed by the recent torrential rains in Pushing village.

Cascades of massive rain water crushed through the terrace paddy fields and carried away the fields along with standing paddy crops, reports reaching here said.

The devastation of paddy fields and crops - the only means of livelihood for majority of the villagers - has reportedly left the poor local farmers in a tight spot.

Meanwhile, jhum cultivators of paddy crop in Chahong Khunou village are facing the same fate as the recent rainstorms had flattened standing crop at different Ahang lui/Kaphung lui (jhum cultivation site) of the village.

Local farmers speaking to The People's Chronicle on Friday informed that Khoirah Ahang lui has been the worst affected site due to the recent Cyclone Sitrang-triggered rainstorms.

They said that as many as 26 local paddy farmers have been hit hard by the natural disaster and are staring at huge loss even as they are awaiting harvest of the crop.

As the standing crops were flattened, rodents and other insects are feeding on the crop seeds.

"As such, we have little hope of harvest this year.

If we ever do, around 70 percent of our crop would be gone," lamented one of the farmers.

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