Neten Dorji | Trashigang

A windstorm on the evening of October 4 damaged maize and paddy in four villages of Toedtsho gewog in Trashiyangtse.

Eighteen households in Sep village lost all their maize and paddy.

A farmer, Dorji Wangdi, 42, said: “I am shattered. All I had is now gone.”

Another affected farmer, Sangay Lhaden, said that her family of five had expected a bountiful harvest this year.  “We are left with nothing.”

Sangay Lhaden said people in the locality depend on maize, as the land is not feasible to grow paddy.

Villagers said that they are experiencing more and more natural disasters in the village.

“Nature disasters like windstorm, heavy rainfall and hailstone are common in the villages,” said one of the villagers.

A villager from Sep said he lost crops to windstorm last year.

Officials from dzongkhag disaster management and dzongkhag agriculture sector assessed and found that maize belonging to 27 households were damaged in Toedtsho and Khamdang gewog.

The damage report would be submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Office of the Gyalpoi Zimpon.

Nangkhar-Sep tshogpa, Rinzin Dorji, said that the situation in the affected villages was bad. “Farmers are crying. They are now left with nothing.”

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