Hailstorm, unseasonal rain in Maharashtra destroy 2.71 lakh hectares of crops

Numbers will rise, says state’s agriculture department; Marathwada and Vidarbha the worst hit

Fresh reports show an alarming rise in the area of cultivated land damaged by hailstorm and unseasonal rain.

The Shelke family from Jalna district, Marathwada, lost 200 quintals of grapes on their one-­and-­a-­half acre field. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

According to the preliminary estimates made by the state’s agriculture department, at least 2.71 lakh hectares of crops were destroyed by Thursday.

Two regions in the state — Marathwada and Vidarbha — were the worst hit by adverse weather conditions, which started on Sunday and continued till Tuesday. Farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha are among the most vulnerable in the state as these regions are prone to droughts.

So far, over 1,800 villages across 16 districts have been affected, but these numbers are likely to rise as the state government is still awaiting the final figures.

“The damage to crops has touched 2.71 lakh hectares and is likely to go up as we get figures from the districts, which will take a few more days,” said a senior official from the agriculture department.

The Maharashtra government has already sought financial assistance of Rs200 crore from the Centre to compensate farmers. Affected farmers will get compensation as per the norms laid down under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

For irrigated land, farmers are entitled to get a compensation of Rs13,500 per hectare, while for horticulture or perennial crops, they get Rs18,000 per hectare, said state agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar. However, in all cases, compensation will be limited to two hectares only.

The most affected districts are Jalna (Marathwada), Buldhana and Amravati (Vidarbha).