Farmers worried as porcupine’s damage Saffron corms in Pampore
Pulwama: The farmers in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district are worried as porcupines are damaging their saffron corms, locals said Thursday.
People from Pampore, Lethpora and its adjacent areas said that porcupines have been giving them sleepless nights as everyday they find damaged corms dug out by porcupines from saffron beds.
Bashir Ahmad, a saffron grower said that porcupines have caused severe damage to saffron corms due to which production of the crop will get effected.
“When corm will be damaged, there will no production of saffron thereby affecting the livelihood of Saffron growers,” he said.
Sameer Ahmad, another grower said that they have been using lights and horns to keep porcupines at bay but they can’t do it for the entire night.
“If steps won’t be taken in this regard, in coming years there will be no saffron corm left in the saffron fields, he said.
Locals said that for other orchardists they have other options available like covering the trunks of trees but no such measure can be adopted to protect saffron fields.
“The government must at least consult the technical persons and experts who can guide growers on how to get rid of the porcupine menace,” Sameer said.
He said that they have brought this issue in notice of concerned authorities but no step has been taken in this regard.
The locals now requested the district authorities to look into the matter at an earliest so that porcupines can’t damage more corms.
Jahangeer Ganaie
