Maharashtra faced nature’s fury yet again as hailstorms battered the northern and western regions of the State on Friday, injuring at least 20 farm labourers and destroying crops.
Reports say Nashik district in the north bore the brunt of the erratic weather. The storms severely damaged onion and pomegranate crops, while grapevines were destroyed in Malegaon, Kalwan, Nandgaon, Dindori, Niphad and Sinnar tehsils of the district. Marble-sized hailstones froze the roots of the vines, farmers say.
The current storm is a replay of the flash hailstorms that ruined hundreds of acres of crops in Nashik in March, saddling farmers with a cumulative debt of Rs. 300 crore. A string of hailstorms last December and January followed by those in February and March damaged the well-grown Rabi crop.
The March hailstorm wreaked havoc on horticulture and agriculture in Osmanabad district, which falls in the rain-shadow Marathwada region, triggering a wave of farmer suicides.
Government estimates say more than 400 of these, mainly in the regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada, were reported in the past 10 months.
Facing a massive debt burden and fearful of their future, farmers in Nashik have demanded swift compensation.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a Rs. 7,000-crore relief package for the drought-affected Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.
