Untimely rains damage standing crops yet again

Would-be bride among three killed in lightning. The tragedy left the families on both sides shocked as she was to get married on Tuesday evening.

Three persons, including a bride, were killed in separate incidents of lightning in Warangal district, while standing and harvested crops in a large extent were damaged in different parts of Telangana in the untimely rains/hailstorm across the region on Tuesday.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed across Warangal district as the farmers lost standing and harvested crops in a sudden hailstorm that lashed late on Monday night and on Tuesday.

Bhanoth Uma (20), a would-be bride belonging to Khambalapalli thanda in Mahabubabad mandal, lost her life when a thunderbolt struck her.

The tragedy left the families on both sides shocked as she was to get married on Tuesday evening.

Two other persons – K. Kondaiah, 38, of Salakapur in Maddur mandal, and E. Govardhan, 26, of Gangapur village in Bachannapet mandal, were also killed by lightening.

Heavy winds that blew across the district left many trees and electricity poles uprooted and broken. Power supply was snapped in several mandals due to the gales. Inclement weather also prevented the officials reaching out to the victims to provide relief and assess the damage.

Farmers in Kesamudram, Mahabubabad and surrounding mandals suffered heavy loss as their paddy bags kept under the open sky in market yards were soaked in the rain. In Pandikunta, standing banana crop was damaged due to gales.

District Collector G. Kishan said the crop damage would be enumerated at the earliest. This is the second time the hailstorm has lashed the district in less than a month. Chilly, paddy, maize, cotton and other crops brought to market yards by farmers for sale were damaged due to the slow process of procurement.

In Nizamabad, the untimely rain caused heavy damage to paddy and turmeric in the market yard there and to the standing paddy crop at several places. About 5,000 bags of paddy and an equal quantity of turmeric and ‘aamchur’ (dried mango peels) were soaked in the heavy rain.

Paddy bags were also damaged in the market yard at Banswada. Farmers belonging to Mylaram and Nusrullabad staged rasta-roko on Varni-Nizamabad road in Beerkur mandal demanding procurement of the soaked grain. The details of standing paddy crop damaged in the rain is yet to be assessed.

In Nalgonda, untimely rain coupled with gales damaged paddy and horticulture crops in a large extent. Gales that swept the district hurt the crops in Nalgonda mandal, Bhongir division and parts of other places. Horticulture Officer P. Ananta Reddy said sweet lime and mango crops were badly hit.