Bharatpur (Chitwan): Recent rainfall, attributed to a delayed monsoon, has inflicted damage on rice crops in Chitwan. According to Umaraj Aryal, an officer at the Agriculture Knowledge Centre in Chitwan, the rains during the harvest period have resulted in damage to approximately two percent of the rice crops in the district.

In certain areas of eastern Chitwan and Bharatpur, where farmers had already cut the rice plants, the storage was delayed due to the rain. Rice harvest time is set to begin in most parts of Chitwan in about a week.

This is the rice harvest time in eastern Chitwan, where irrigation facilities are available, and rice transplantation is tentatively completed by the end of June. Sunil Dawadi of Sharanpur in Bharatpur metropolis-16 reported that the rice plants left to dry in the fields were submerged in rainwater. Dawadi, who was seen gathering the soaked rice plants from his field, was sad over the loss. As he said, he had hired workers from Rautahat for the rice transplantation and had invested Rs 25,000 as labor costs for the same.

Madhumaya Khanal from Sharanpur also shared how the rains had caused damage to the rice plants that were cut in course of the harvest process. Farmers here are concerned about the impact of the rain on their rice plants, which were ready for harvest. Rice is cultivated on around 27,000 hectares of land in Chitwan.