Apple orchards of Brep ravaged by repeated floods
CHITRAL: The farmers of Brep village in Yarkhoon valley have lost a major source of income in the form of apple orchards as the flash flood inundated three-fourth part of its area over the last two years, overrunning thousands of apple trees.
Brep, known as the apple producing village, is consisted of about 1,200 households where majority of the farmers had raised orchards of the fruit due to the high rate of dividend it derived for them every year.
Liaquat Ali, a grower of apple, said over the last couple of decades, the village had become highly vulnerable to the disaster of flash floods in the summer season that were followed by every torrential rains of even half-an-hour duration.
He said that last year of 600 trees of apple in his orchard barely 50 survived the devastating floods that hit the area consecutively for the last two years thereby depriving him of chief source of income.
He said that last year, the apple had ripened and its harvesting was about to commence when the flash floods submerged more than half part of the village and he was one of the affected families, who lost their apple trees to the merciless flood.
Mr Ali said that in the current year, the floods hit the remaining part of the village in July last thereby affecting more number of farmers.
Akbar Hussain, another farmer, said that last year, he had sold the fruits of three lots of his apple orchards to a merchant from Punjab but before he started harvesting, the floods flattened his orchards and he did not get even a penny.
He said that last year, very few farmers were fortunate enough to harvest the apple and market them before the floods but such farmers had very small number of trees.
Mr Hussain said that the sudden loss of fruit trees brought misery and indigence to the households, who had no other solid source of income and had been rendered homeless.
He said that a tree of apple started giving fruit after five to seven years of its plantation in Brep village. “It means that the affected farmers will remain so for the coming eight to 10 years even if the flooded land of the orchard is reclaimed,” he added.
He regretted that neither the affected farmers were paid any compensation by the government nor any special package was announced to help them to reclaim their orchards by clearing the debris and boulders wrought by the floods.
Ajmer Gul, a fruit merchant in Chitral bazaar, said that there was a great demand for the apple of Brep village in the local as well as national market but last year it was available in the market in a very limited quantity.
He said that half of the produce of the fruit available in the market came from Brep and the merchants purchased the fruits from the farmers in advance.