Srinagar, May 20 (IANS) Over 40 sheep and goats were killed on Tuesday in a lightning strike in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

Officials said the animals were killed by lightning in the Hariganwan area of the Ganderbal district.

The livestock belonged to a nomadic ‘Bakarwal’ (Goatherd) community. “The Bakarwal has been identified as Abdul Wahid Khatana of Sunderbani in Rajouri district. He was grazing his flock in Chechi Pati in Hariganwan area,” said officials, adding that the lightning struck after a brief thunderstorm in the area.

Gusty high-speed winds have resulted in damage to private and public property in the Valley during the last three days.

Unusually high day temperature, shooting up to 32.6 degrees Celsius, has created low pressure zone over the Valley.

This results in high-speed wind blowing into the Valley to stabilise the pressure-temperature equation.

Accompanying hailstorm has resulted in huge damage to the apple crop, especially in the south Kashmir districts of Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag.

At many places, damage has been caused by hailstorms to Paddy nurseries. The Paddy crop is grown by transplanting the saplings from the nurseries to the field.

The entire Paddy crop season is spread from the beginning of May to the middle of October, during which the crop has to be sown, transplanted and harvested.

Not adhering to the exact schedule often results in the failure of the Paddy crop to produce the grain for which it is cultivated.

Rice is the stable diet of the people in the Valley. As the cultivable land has shrunken due to indiscriminate construction of houses, shops and malls, the area under the Paddy crop has alarmingly been reduced. This has made the people in the Valley dependent on government-run ration shops where rice is available at different rates to different segments of the society, depending on their financial status.

–IANS

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