KHOWAI, April 13 (TIWN): To access the condition of the farmers who suffered a hefty loss as several hectares of water melon were damaged by heavy downpour, Directyor of Horticulture Sharabindu Das (Khowai) along with other officials had recently managed to visit to 171 hectares of water melon land under Tulashikhar agricultural office.

However, during their visit to the destroyed land, of at least 700 farmers, the officials assured them for a cultivation of crops under another alternative scheme so that the loss from the damage of the water melon can be recovered. Rainfall with hail storm and threatening wind in Khowai along with other districts of the state has affected the farmers with food crops severely damaged.

The water melon plantation has got much priority at the places like Asharambari, Behelabari, Bonbazar, Chamubosti, Tulsirambari and Vidyabil under Khowai sub-division with the farmers earlier used to make a hefty profit and earn their daily livelihood. This has now turned worst for the farmers as the pre monsoonal rain has led the farmers to suffer a major loss of Rs. 40, 000 for each farmer at the area.

The officials on their visit to the destroyed land assured the helpless farmers to meet their demands with an alternative crop production after the general election to TTAADC poll.

The damage of the watermelons across the rural areas of the state due to the rain has brought another major effect to the market here in Agartala with the sellers selling the water melons with high price. Various agricultural lands have taken the shape of water body.

Widespread monsoon have cast a negative impact on crops and have affected the yield of various food crops in various areas. However, heavier monsoon rains caused field floods in lower areas and resulted in more damage.

It is worthy to be mentioned here that a watermelon plant (Citrullus lanatus) needs enough moisture to ensure proper growth and fruit development. Too much water can be detrimental when growing watermelons, reducing the quality of the fruit or causing it to burst. This can be especially problematic if you're having unusually heavy rains during the growing season because you have no control over how much rain falls.

Though it’s a time now to witness what steps does the concerned administration take to rescue the farmers from the coming days as the monsoonal rain fall can probably bring a major downfall in agricultural production of the farmers of the state slopping down the economy.