NAWALPUR: A powerful windstorm accompanied by heavy rain and hail battered parts of Nawalpur on Tuesday, destroying paddy ready for harvest and damaging dozens of homes, local officials said.

The storm hit the Baguwan and Siseni communities of Binayi Triveni Rural Municipality-1, leaving widespread agricultural losses and affecting at least 73 households. Farmers who had harvested their spring paddy and left it in the fields to dry suffered significant losses as the grain was soaked by rain and scattered by strong winds.

For many residents, the damage extended beyond the fields.

Mina BK, a longtime resident of Baguwan, said the storm struck suddenly while she was gathering rice harvested from her farmland.

“I was tying bundles of paddy when the rain and wind arrived without warning,” she recalled. “After securing what I could in the field, I rushed home and found that the wind had torn off my metal roof. The stored grain, rice, and clothes inside were all damaged.”

Agricultural officials estimate that harvested rice spread across roughly seven bighas of farmland in Baguwan was affected. According to Sanjay Dhakal, an agricultural economist at the District Agricultural Development Office, most farmers had already brought in their crops, but nearly one-third of the harvested paddy remained exposed in the fields when the storm hit.

The damage was equally severe in neighboring Siseni. Harvested rice covering about 33,863.15 square meter of land suffered losses estimated at around 50 percent, while hail damaged standing rice crops on approximately 237,042.11 square meters, officials said.

Local authorities estimate total losses from the storm at around Rs. 2 million.

According to Binayi Triveni Rural Municipality Chairperson Ghanshyam Giri, the storm damaged homes across several settlements, including Baguwan, Siseni, Jyogikuti, Lower Jyamire, and the Old Settlement area. Many families lost roofing materials, while food stocks, clothing, and household belongings were ruined by rainwater.

Municipal officials are currently assessing the full extent of the destruction and compiling damage reports. Relief assistance and support measures are being prepared for affected families, Giri said.

The storm is the latest setback for farmers in the region, many of whom were on the verge of completing this season’s harvest when the extreme weather struck.

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