Maharashtra: Unseasonal rain, hailstorms hit crops on over 28,000 hectares; many houses damaged in Vidarbha

Crops grown on more than 28,000 hectares of land bore the brunt of unseasonal rain and hailstorms in Maharashtra's Nagpur division in the last few days, officials said on Thursday.

Besides, nearly 70 houses were damaged in the division's Wardha district and 27 in Nagpur district. One person also died after being struck by lightning in Nagpur, they said.

Various districts in the east Vidarbha region witnessed showers and hailstorms between January 8 and 11.

As per preliminary reports, the inclement weather affected over 28,000 hectares of agriculture land in 1,272 villages in Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts, an official told PTI.

Gadchiroli was the worst affected with over 8,550 hectares of land in 714 villages bearing the brunt, followed by Nagpur where 7,495 hectares of land was impacted, the official said.

In Wardha, crops on over 3,000 hectares of land were affected after rains lashed Arvi, Karanja, Ashti and other areas of the district since January 8, an official from the agriculture department said.

Standing crops like cotton, tur, and orange plantations were damaged, the official said.

On Tuesday, rain and hailstorms were witnessed in Kamptee, Saoner, Ramtek and Parseoni area of Nagpur district, officials said.

Local administration has started the survey of the affected agricultural lands.

Nagpur Guardian Minister Nitin Raut has given directions to conduct the 'panchnama' of losses in the district. Collector R Vimla has ordered the revenue department to conduct the same and submit a report, a district official said.

Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Minister Sunil Kedar is in Nagpur to inspect the affected villages in the district.