GORKHA, Oct 30: Continuous rainfall for three days has affected the harvest-ready paddy in Gorkha. The unusual pattern of heavy rainfall from Wednesday night till Friday afternoon, least expected during the post monsoon time, has damaged the ripe paddy, according to the farmers.
The paddy plants have been muddied as the fields got water logged following the heavy rainfall. The production is likely to be affected in the district, said the farmers.
"Paddy has been badly soiled and it seems we will be able to collect only half of the total production," said Kanchhi Kumari Gurung, while harvesting the crop.
National Paddy Day today
Only some 1,400 kg of paddy could be collected this time from the field which had yielded over 2,500 kg, said Gurung. All six members of her family were busy harvesting the crop with their knees dipped in the mud.
The farmers had to rush to harvest the crop and store it safely following the rain. Besides the rain troubling the farmers, the fuel crisis has made their work inefficient.
The farmers have not been able to use the reaper machines due to the fuel shortage. "We had to get back to manual work which has slowed our efficiency and increased our cost," said Bhim Bahadur Thapa of Gorkha Bazar.
Senior Agriculture Development Officer Tirtha Kumar Shrestha said that this year's paddy production in the district has been estimated to be lower than the previous year as the earthquake affected at the time of plantation.
Twenty-five percent of paddy fields remained barren in the district as the earthquake victims were busy to arrange shelter, added Shrestha.
