Pune: Around 400 villages, most of them in Amravati, Aurangabad and Nagpur districts, were affected in the recent
hail and unseasonal rains that lashed Maharashtra on Sunday. Three people have lost their lives in the disaster.
The dead included a 16-year-old girl, who was struck by lightning, officials of the state disaster management department told TOI on Monday. A 13-year-old girl was also injured after being hit by lightning.
The unseasonal rains and hail over the Western Vidarbha and Marathwada regions caused significant crop damage, with vegetables, wheat, Bengal gram, jowar, safflower, oranges, grapes, mangoes and pomegranates bearing the brunt.
Dhananjay Totey, president, Maharashtra Orange Growers’ Association, told TOI that as per preliminary reports, close to two lakh metric tonne of marketable oranges and those in the flowering stage were destroyed in the Vidarbha region and adjoining Madhya Pradesh due to the hail and rain. “The summer oranges on trees, which were to hit the markets soon, suffered damage along with fruits in the flowering stage. The losses are bound to mount as damage estimates are still coming in,” he said.
An official of the state disaster management department told TOI that the chief damage was reported from the Amravati, Aurangabad and Nagpur regions. “Four districts in Amravati and five each in Aurangabad and Nagpur bore the brunt, with approximately 400 villages having been affected. Majority of these villages are in Buldhana, while 51 villages in Jalna were also affected,” he said.
The official said the 400 villages are those that reported loss of crops, cattle and lives. “One girl died in Buldhana and another was injured by lightning. The other two casualties were from Washim and Jalna,” he added. TOI on Monday had reported that the Jalna casualty was one Namdev Shinde (62).
The met department had indicated more hail and unseasonal rains in parts of central India, including Vidarbha, on Monday. However, there was neither rain nor hail till late in the evening. There are also no hail warnings for the state from February 13, an official in the India Meteorological Department (
IMD) said.
The official said Sunday’s weather event was mainly the interaction between the current western disturbance and low-level easterlies, which is taking place over the plains of northwest and adjoining central India. “When winds of these types come to one juncture and interact, they result in thunderstorm, rain and hail,” he added.
N Chattopadhyay, head, Agricultural Meteorology Division, IMD, said some progressive farmers protect their crops with hail nets. “This should be adopted by other farmers too. Hail caps should also be used by vegetable farmers to protect their seedlings,” he added.
