SHIMLA- In a continuing onslaught, massive hailstorms triggered by wild weather have decimated the standing crops of cauliflower, beans, and Shimla Mirch, ready for harvest in Digthi-Patgair and various areas across the Mashobra Block and Shimla rural today. The Wild weather has already spelled doom for 30- 50 percent of apple crop this year so far in the Shimla-Mandi-Kullu-Kinnaur apple belt.
Damage caused to Crops is understandable considering the size of hail stone that is as big as the size of apricot.
The hailstorms have not been limited to a particular period, with reports of their occurrence from April to May and persisting into June as well.
While the wild weather continues to wreak havoc and miseries on farmers in the state, but they have little hope from the government, which remains obsessed with its over-politicised employees, which constitute a powerful lobby in the corridor of power in Himachal. 
The wild weather has caused a staggering fluctuation of seven to ten degrees in both lower and higher temperatures in the state causing extensive damage to the fruit and sources of livelihoods for the farmers.
But the heavy spells of rainfall have come as rejuvenator for jungles and jameen recharging the water sources and rivers.
But the losses suffered by the agricultural community extend far beyond the Mashobra Block. Off-season vegetables such as tomatoes, Shimla Mirch (capsicum), beans, and cauliflower have been reduced to ruins in numerous villages throughout the Shimla Rural Tehsil.
Raising their voice against the calamity, President of Himachal Kisan Sabha, Dr. Kuldip Singh Tanvar, and CPM leader from Kasumpati demanded an urgent action from the state government.
The farmers in Haryana gets Rs 3000 per bigha as compensation in calamities while in Himachal it is meagre Rs 300 per bigha, that paints the story of successive state governments boasting off in rallies and public forums talking about welfare of farmers in the state.
Expressing their dismay, he said the hailstorms have decimated crops ready for harvest across vast areas of the Mashobra Block. The responsibility now lies with the government to swiftly assess the extent of damage and provide just compensation to the affected farmers.
However, the hopes of struggling farmers for immediate relief seem to be fading away as the government turns a blind eye, resorting to outdated Relief Manuals rather than addressing the present crisis head-on.
The relief manual should be updated to make it even with that of other neighburing states so that farmers are compensated to some extent.
This disparity between the government's rhetoric on farmer welfare and their lack of prompt compensation only further exacerbates the hardships faced by the farmers.
The ongoing onslaught of wild weather, beginning in March and continuing through April and May, has already delivered a severe blow to apple farmers.
The apple belt of Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, and Kinnaur—the lifeline of apple production in Himachal Pradesh—has witnessed a staggering loss of 30 to 50 percent of this year's apple crop. The damaged fruit is C-grade, which is of no use, while the crop is on the leanest side this year, say apple farmers.
Adding insult to injury, the crop insurance companies are ill-equipped with an insufficient number of weather stations. They are here to make money and are unable to adequately assess the losses suffered by farmers.
As a result, compensation under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana rarely reaches those impacted by hailstorms, further deepening their despair.
According to the Meteorological Department, the apple belt has experienced an alarming excess of rainfall, ranging from 30 to 66 percent in April and May. This has worsened the plight of farmers, leaving them fending for themselves.
Framers demand the present government, which rode to power on the back of farmers, should asses magnitude of this disaster.
The government revisit the dated Relief Manual and providing swift and fair compensation to affected farmers.
