Heavy rainfall destroys banana farms in Gujarat’s Narmada district | Pics

Banana farms in Gujarat's Narmada district were destroyed by the heavy rainfall and floods in the region. See pics here

Banana farmers in Gujarat’s Narmada district suffered major losses after heavy rainfall and floods destroyed their farms. The district is famous for its banana production. The farmers were expecting a huge profit this year following the Covid-19 setbacks.

The Karjan dam located in Narmada district has been overflowing due to heavy rainfall in the area. Nine gates of the dam were opened and over two lakh cusecs of water was released without informing the villagers.

The water released from the dam swept away banana plants in the farms. Farmers tried to save the bananas at the risk of their lives, but several banana farms are submerged under the water.

Rohit Patel, a farmer said, "Our complete farms are destroyed. After a huge amount of water was released from the dam, our farms were submerged under the water. Banana farming is difficult and a lot of care is needed. It takes a whole year for it to grow. Many of us took the risk and removed as many bananas as we could."

Another farmer, Hemant Patel said, "July and August are the months when we start cutting bananas. Bananas are in huge demand in foreign countries as well. During the corona period we were getting just Rs 2 to Rs 5 per kilo. However this year we were to get Rs 400 per 20 kilos. But now everything is over."

The farmers are now appealing to the Gujarat government for complete compensation, saying that for the past few years, they have continuously faced massive losses and therefore, this year they should be compensated completely.

(With inputs from Narendra Paperwala)