Fruits worth millions destroyed by floods in Balkhu market

KATHMANDU: Continuous rainfall from Thursday afternoon to Saturday evening has filled the fruit warehouse in Balkhu with sludge.

According to the Fruit and Vegetable Traders Federation, all the fruits were destroyed as the sludge flooded the warehouse, with water levels reaching up to 10 feet.

Khom Prasad Ghimire, president of the federation, told Himal Press that fruits worth Rs 230-250 million stored in the Balkhu warehouse were damaged by floodwaters. “Another Rs 50-70 million worth of fruits displayed for sale were also damaged,” he added.

Ghimire said that since the Balkhu fruit warehouse is located near the Bagmati River, it is consistently damaged during flood incidents. “Despite taking several precautions, we couldn’t prevent water from entering the warehouse,” he said. “Our attempts to store fruits at higher levels to protect them from floods proved unsuccessful.”

He accused the government of ignoring their demands to better organize and secure the busy fruits and vegetables market in the valley.

Ranjit Singh, a fruit trader, said that the three-day rain had left almost no fruit in Balkhu. “The loss this time is almost three times greater than before. Some fruits were washed away by the flood. Many traders will be displaced because of this incident,” he added.

In July, flooding at the Balkhu Agricultural and Vegetables Market caused damages worth approximately Rs 30 million. In June, flooding from the Bagmati River had submerged the vegetable market in Balkhu, resulting in losses of fruits and vegetables worth Rs 20 million.

Meanwhile, the prices of fruits like apples, kiwis, pomegranates, and avocados have risen by Rs 80-90 per kg compared to Thursday. Fruit trader Manoj Ghimire expects prices to rise further in the coming days.

According to Binay Shrestha, Information Officer at the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the inflow of fruits has stopped since Saturday due to the rain. “The market won’t receive fruit supplies for a few more days,” he added.