The downpour on Thursday did not just destroy civic amenities and houses in Yadgir. It also took with it the dream of a techie who had quit his job at a private company in Bengaluru and started cultivation in a shade-net nursery recently.
Ashwin Kumar Subedar, a BE graduate, was cultivating tomato in the shade-net nursery, set up over one acre near Golapalli village in Shahpur taluk. The shade net, and consequently the crops inside, suffered considerable damage in the rain. Mr. Subedar estimates his losses at Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 12 lakh.
Poles damaged
Most of the poles erected to support the shade net collapsed during the downpour. Hailstorms weighing 50-70 kg in total were collected the following morning from the area.
“I spent about Rs. 34 lakh [on the field], with 50 per cent subsidy under the Krishi Bhagya scheme. But due to the depression of prices in the open market, I could not make a profit. And now this,” he told The Hindu .
When contacted, Satish Kumar, Deputy Director of the Horticulture Department, said there is no provision to release or pay compensation for any damages when it comes to shade-net cultivation. But the farmer can claim solatium if they get the crop and net insured, he said.
