Chitwan, May 16: A heavy windstorm occurred on Sunday night in Chitwan district has damaged the banana farming in various places in the district.

According to Bishnu Hari Panta, Chairman of Banana Farmers Association (BFA), the windstorm caused damage to banana cultivated in Ratnanagar, Pithwa, Jagatpur, Jutpani and Padampur among other places, incurring a loss of more than Rs 340 million.

“More than 15,000 banana plants have been damaged due to the windstorm,” he shared.

Earlier in April, a total of 9,000 banana plants were recorded to have sustained damages in similar incident, according to Dhan Bahadur Thapa, Horticulture Development Officer, at the District Agricultural Development Office (DADO), Chitwan.

Banana farming in Chitwan has covered 2,200 bighas of the total land in the district which fetches around Rs 600 million annually, according Horticulture Development Officer Thapa. RSS