Collapse of a large shed has resulted in injuries to several people, some of them serious, when an unexpected hailstorm ravaged the newly-shifted fruit market at Koheda in Rangareddy district on Monday.
Unclear figures
According to local sources, 14 persons were hurt in the incident with four among them receiving serious injuries. A few have been shifted to private hospitals nearby while others have been brought to Vanasthalipuram area hospital.
However, Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy said 26 people were injured and one of them seriously.
Eye witnesses said that isolated thunder storm with hail and strong winds was experienced during the afternoon at Koheda and nearby areas.
While the fruit market had four sheds with nothing but aluminium tin sheets of small sizes laid one over the other for roofs, one among them collapsed completely.
Roofs of the remaining three were tossed away in the storm. Video clips were circulated on social media showing how the tin sheets flew away like leaves in the strong wind.
Workers, hamalis and traders numbering in hundreds were present inside the sheds at the time of the incident, eye witnesses said.
Several tonnes of mangoes which were brought to the market by farmers were damaged in the rain, they said.
Compensation demand
Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who visited the site, demanded compensation to the farmers and the injured.
Terming the incident unfortunate, Mr. Niranjan Reddy assured help to all the injured in the incident. He said that they had information that the condition of one of the injured was serious and the government would provided medical care to all the injured.
Mango arrivals
According to the Agricultural Marketing Department officials, two huge sheds were constructed and opened recently and another was under construction on a war-footing as the government had decided to allow mango arrivals only at Koheda to reduce congestion and over-crowding in Kothapeta and Gaddiannaram markets.
About five acres was also given to TS-Transco recently for construction of a sub-station there.
Construction of sheds and other infrastructure facilities were taken up with ₹65 lakh and sheds with a total built-in area of 1.26 lakh square feet are being constructed there.