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Dipender Manta
Snowfall is considered a boon for the tourism, agriculture and horticulture industry in Himachal, but it brought misery to the residents of tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti.
Untimely snow gave a big blow to the economy of people in the region as major cash crops got damaged in the fields. The first spell of heavy snowfall was reported in September last year. The apple crop was ready for harvesting, but untimely heavy snowfall caused 90 per cent damage to the crop.
Not only apples, broccoli, cauliflower, iceberg lettuce and potatoes, which is the only source of livelihood to the people of this tribal district, perished in snow.
Farmers of the district said they had never experienced such a loss to apple trees, vegetable and potato crops in the past. There was no trace of potatoes, peas and vegetable crops in the fields, which got buried under 3 or 4-feet of snow, even as harvesting was to start in the end of September.
Farmers’ hope for a good harvest was dashed to the ground last year because of sudden, untimely heavy snowfall. The Chandra valley recorded 3-feet snow, while Koksar recorded over 5-feet snow in September 2018. The potato and apple crop was to be harvested in September end and October, while seasonal vegetable crops were to be harvested in the lower valley.
Ajit Singh, a native of Goshal village, said: “Timely and adequate snowfall is considered a boon for horticulture and agriculture sector for the better production of crops, which maintains required temperature and moisture in the land for the purpose. But untimely snow has spelt doom for us, as apple orchards have been damaged badly. Apart from apple, cabbage and cauliflower crops also got damaged. It proved a big blow to the economy of people in the region, who are now finding it difficult to meet their daily expenditure.”
The state government, however, tried giving some relief to people by providing compensation for the loss, but the amount was quite less, he said.
The suffering of tribals did not end here. Thereafter, the district received more spells of heavy snowfall from December last year to March 2019, which paralysed normal life. People suffering from chronic ailments were forced to wait for weeks to get airlifted for medical treatment.
Since December last year, a majority of roads leading within Lahaul valley were blocked for vehicular activity because of heavy snowfall in the region. The transportation system completely got paralysed in the district. As a result, people of the region traversed on foot for more than 25 km in emergency, carried patients on shoulders to reach the district hospital.
A critically injured patient, Rigzin (85), who is a native of Tino village, was brought to Keylong by villagers on foot for 25-km in February. He had fallen while clearing snow from the rooftop of his house. He could not be airlifted for timely treatment. Later, he was admitted to the district hospital in Keylong, with multiple bone fractures for days.
Another such incident was reported at Udaipur, where a pregnant lady was waiting for the helicopter service for safe delivery of her child. But due to bad weather she could not be airlifted in time for weeks. As a result, she gave birth to a child at Udaipur, but her condition deteriorated badly. Fortunately, the district administration acted on time and saved her life. They hired a private chopper to airlift the patient out of the district for better medical treatment.
Several snow avalanches were reported in the district, which damaged public and private properties. The power supply and telecommunication services were snapped for months in the district because of snow.
Ramesh Kumar Rulba, Ashok Kumar, Mohan Lal and other residents of Lahaul and Spiti said normal snowfall is a must for good crop, but excessive snowfall makes life miserable. The transportation service came to a standstill for months and the entire Lahaul valley was cut off from the rest of the state because of closure of the 13,050-feet high Rohtang Pass, which is the gateway to Lahaul on the Manali-Leh highway.
Power supply and telecommunication services were also hit badly. They said the district was prone to snow avalanches and heavy snowfall makes them vulnerable.
Residents want better solution from the state government to reduce their suffering, which they face every year because of snow disaster. They want better telecommunication service, power supply and internal road connectivity. Apart from this, they are desperately waiting for the completion of the Rohtang tunnel, which will provide them all-weather road connectivity in the region.
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