Rain & hailstorm damage crops in Dir

TIMERGARA: Heavy rain and hailstorm hit parts of the Lower Dir district early Thursday causing extensive damage to crops in different parts of the district

After the monsoon floods, heavy rain and hailstorm caused more misery for farmers. Reports from dozens of villages around Samarbagh, Maidan, Adenzai, Khall, Balambat and Timergara said that the storm flattened the rice crop and vegetables grown over a large area.

In plain areas of Balambat and Timergara, the rice crop was completely damaged at the harvesting stage. The power supply also remained suspended for hours in most areas.

Dozens of localities were inundated with rainwater in the city including houses, markets and shops.

The rainwater entered the basement of Tableeghi Markaz in Timergara. Officials of Rescue 1122 and Tehsil Municipal Administration were busy with rehabilitation activities in Timergara till the filing of this report.

Jehanzeb Khan, a farmer, told this scribe that pessimism prevailed in the area as farmers were expecting good produce from their farms but instead they faced losses.

He demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to compensate the farmers for the losses and increase the amount it had already announced in the past for the affected areas.