Although the King of Fruits in India is hugely in demand across the country, farmers of Gujarat out of helplessness have been forced to dump their mangoes along the borders of their orchards as the crop was damaged by Cyclone Biparjoy, which hit the coastal state a week ago.

Farmers from various districts including Rajkot, Dwarka, Kutch and others were hurt and angry as well but had no choice other than dumping as damaged crops are of no worth now.

Gusty winds, rain, and humidity are considered as main factors behind the acceleration of the rotting of mangoes.

The farmers getting rid of their damaged crops are being witnessed in Anjar, Bhuj, Mandvi, Mundra talukas and Nakhtrana, which form the main mango belt of Kutch.

As the latest state government data revealed, Kutch has horticulture crops across 57,735 hectares, out of which, mango orchards account for 10,960 hectares and the fact that mango orchards are the third biggest horticulture crop of Kutch after pomegranate 19,325 hectares and date palms 19,111 hectares, the extent of economical loss of farmers can be anticipated.

The price of fair average quality mangoes has now halved to around Rs 20 per kg from Rs 40 per kg before the cyclone.

Although the incident is very shocking, the act of farmers of allowing people to take mangoes for free and using the rotten ones for feeding their livestock shows their not-quitting-gesture towards an unprecedented natural disaster.

Meanwhile, extreme cyclone storm the enduring tropical storm Biparjoy often referred to as the 2023 Gujarat tropical cyclone, formed over the eastern Arabian Sea. Biparjoy, the second cyclonic storm and third depression of the 2023 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, formed from a depression that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) initially identified on June 6.

As the flood situation got worse in Assam on Thursday, nearly 4.96 lakh people have been affected in 22 districts of the state. One person died in Tamulpur after he was drowned in flood waters.

As per the latest report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the flood situation in Bajali district is worse as nearly 2.60 lakh people have been affected in the district. The descending list is then followed by 77702 people affected in Nalbari, 65221 people in Barpeta, 25613 people in Lakhimpur, 24023 people in Baksa, 19208 people in Tamulpur, 13704 people in Darrang, 6538 people in Kokrajhar district.

The flood has affected 3,46,639 domestic animals have also as reported by ASDMA.

The water level of the Brahmaputra River, which is the lifeline of North-Eastern states in India is flowing above the danger level mark as a result of torrential rain at Neamatighat in Jorhat district. At Dhubri, the Beki River at Road Bridge, Manas River at Nh Road Crossing, Pagladiya River at Nt Road Crossing, and Puthimaririver at Nh Road Crossing has become a reason for floods in Assam. 

The Regional Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for Friday, asking people to be on watch and remain updated for heavy rainfall and thunderstorm in Assam.

Many disaster relief agencies including National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Fire & Emergency services, and Civil Defence personnel are engaged in rescue operations, and in the last 24 hours, they have been successful in rescuing 561 flood-affected people. Many people have taken shelter in these relief camps set up by the district administration. 

The administration has also set up relief distribution centers in 11 flood-hit districts in order to give a sigh of relief to the people affected. Moreover, many have taken shelter on roads, highlands, and embankments also to save themselves from the disaster. Many NGOs and locals are also actively participating in helping the state in coping up with the disaster.

At the all-party meeting organised by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on June 24 to address the turbulent situation in the northeastern state, President’s Rule would not be imposed in Manipur.

Since ethnic conflict first broke out in Manipur on May 3 as a result of a Tribal Solidarity March staged in the hill regions to oppose the Meitei community’s quest for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, more than 110 deaths have been reported and 40,000 people have been displaced.

At the all-party conference which be held on Saturday in the Parliament Library, sources claimed Amit Shah will engage with political parties of all stripes, however, they pointed out that imposing President’s Rule, a growing demand among many opposition parties, is not currently being considered.

The choice appears to have been made as the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convener and BJP point-person for the region’s northeast, Himanta Biswa Sarma, gave Shah an update on his discussions with the dissident Kuki group and Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh. On June 10, Sarma met with Meitei community member Biren Singh in Imphal. He had met a party of Kuki insurgents in Guwahati the following day. On June 21, Sarma took a late flight to Delhi where she briefed the Union Home Minister at his home.

Following the discussion, the government appears to have decided on bringing up the possibility of the President’s Rule in Manipur at the impending all-party gathering, according to official sources.

The government makes the decisions. However, as a party, we do not support President’s Rule in Manipur, at least not immediately. There are now peace discussions. We expect a successful outcome, as per a BJP source.

Meanwhile, DG CRPF SL Thaosen visited the state and met with the Governor in addition to the officers sent by the federal government to assist and support the Manipur government. DGP Manipur Police also met Thaosen and other state officials during his tour. According to sources, they discussed the current state of affairs, the deployment of forces, and handling tough situations. Thaosen also went to a few places where there had been violent fights and met CRPF members there.