October 9: Recent heavy rainfall, attributed to a delayed monsoon, has wreaked havoc on rice crops in Chitwan. According to Umaraj Aryal, an officer at the Agriculture Knowledge Centre in Chitwan, approximately two percent of the rice crops in the district have suffered damage due to the untimely rains during the harvest period.

In specific regions of eastern Chitwan and Bharatpur, where farmers had already cut their rice plants, the downpour further complicated matters by delaying the storage process. The rice harvest season is scheduled to commence in most parts of Chitwan in about a week.

Eastern Chitwan, known for its irrigation facilities, typically completes rice transplantation by the end of June. Unfortunately, Sunil Dawadi of Sharanpur in Bharatpur metropolis-16 shared that the heavy rains submerged the rice plants he had left to dry in the fields.

Dawadi, visibly disheartened, mentioned that he had even hired workers from Rautahat and invested Rs 25,000 in labor costs for the rice transplantation. 

Madhumaya Khanal from Sharanpur echoed the sentiment, explaining how the rains had damaged the rice plants that had already been cut during the harvest process.

Farmers in the region are deeply concerned about the adverse impact of the rain on their ready-for-harvest rice plants. The rice is cultivated across approximately 27,000 hectares of land in Chitwan. (RSS)