Orchardists fear that this year, total apple production in the state might not even touch 1 crore boxes, leading to financial constraints.
Harish Chauhan, an orchardist from Shimla district, said that this year, the state has witnessed a heavy spell of hailstorms, which is more than normal.
He said that earlier, the state used to witness hailstorms, but the total number of spells used to be much less than this year.
“In 2026, the state has witnessed continuous hailstorms, which have damaged most of the apple and stone fruit crops, causing huge losses to the orchardists. People here are in distress as they fear losing their income source, as they will not be able to earn much with very little crop production this year,” he said.
Chauhan also said that not only apples, but also anti-hail nets are being damaged due to heavy hailstorms.
“The intensity of hailstorms is such that anti-hail nets, which are used to protect the apples, are also sustaining damage, including bamboo, which is used to support the nets,” he added.
The State Committee of Communist Party of India (Marxist) also expressed concern over heavy hailstorms and has demanded that the government immediately assess the losses incurred by the orchardists and to provide compensation to the affected orchardists.
Sanjay Chauhan, State Secretary, CPI (M), said that apples and stone fruits across the state have witnessed immense damage as a result of a heavy hailstorm.
He said that, realising the gravity of the situation, the government should immediately release the pending payments, amounting to crores of rupees, for apples procured from farmers under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS).
“The government should also provide high-quality pesticides and other agricultural inputs available to farmers at subsidised rates to the orchardists and farmers through the Department of Horticulture. Additionally, the government should also immediately disburse all pending subsidy payments owed to farmers.”
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