SWABI: A hailstorm accompanied by heavy rain badly damaged the tobacco and sugarcane crops in various parts of the district on Thursday night raising fears among the farmers of economic hardships in the near future.

The affected farmers told Dawn on Friday that climate change had badly affected them and added that they did not know how to cope with it. The most affected areas include Kuladand, Pirtab, Jaganat, Yaqoubi, Yar Hussain, Saleem Khan, Shahmansoor, Sodher village, Qasim Pula, Sikandary, Dagai, Checknoda, Gohati and various other Chota Lahor.

Liaqat Yousafzai, general secretary of Kashthkar Coordinate Council (KCC), said that it was probably the seventh time the hailstorm had lashed different areas in the current season which affected tobacco, sugarcane and vegetable crops across the district.

He demanded that the district administration should constitute a team to conduct the survey of the affected areas to assess financial damage suffered by the growers.

The growers of some regions claimed that about 90 per cent of their crops had been destroyed by hailstones and they badly needed financial assistance to survive.

They demanded of the government to declare the district as calamity-hit region and said that the authorities must come forward to provide financial assistance to the poor farmers of the district.

Published in Dawn, May 27TH, 2023