U.P.: Unseasonal rain, hailstorm cause widespread crop damage in Prayagraj - Hindustan Times
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U.P.: Unseasonal rain, hailstorm cause widespread crop damage in Prayagraj

By, Prayagraj
Mar 22, 2023 10:27 PM IST

Unseasonal rain and hailstorm have caused widespread damage to wheat, mustard and other crops in Prayagraj district

Unseasonal rain and hailstorm have caused widespread damage to wheat, mustard and other crops in Prayagraj district. The farmers were a worried lot after hundreds of acres of crops was destroyed in the district due to unseasonal rain on March 19. Their miseries compounded after rain and hailstorm again hit the region on March 21.

Prayagraj DM Sanjay Kumar Khatri inspecting damaged crops in Bara tehsil of the district on March 22. (HT photo)
Prayagraj DM Sanjay Kumar Khatri inspecting damaged crops in Bara tehsil of the district on March 22. (HT photo)

Rain and hailstorm that lasted around an hour were reported in Bara, Koraon, Soraon and Nawabganj tehsil areas of the district. Due to the first rain, the ripe crop of wheat that fell on the fields got submerged in the water and was destroyed. The mustard crop was also completely destroyed, said a farmer from Soraon Bahadur Pal.

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Acknowledging the problem, the district administration has started a survey to assess the extent of crop damage. Officials said the Tuesday afternoon rain and hailstorm much affected rural areas of Lalapur, Jasra, Gauhaniya, Bara, Chidi and Shankargarh areas of trans-Yamuna region specially.

Meteorologists say the weather patterns are likely to remain same for the next 24 hours at least. Weather experts from the department of geography, University of Allahabad, Prof AR Siddiqui and Prof BN Mishra said it is likely to remain cloudy with possibility of drizzle till March 23.

On March 19, the district recorded 22.6 mm of rain and according to the assessment made by the agriculture department, 30 to 50% of the crops of oilseeds and pulses along with wheat have been destroyed. The mango blossoms too have got hit and due to which the production of mangoes is also expected to be affected this year.

Crops of over 10,030 farmers of Prayagraj district have got destroyed due to unseasonal rain and hailstorm that lashed Prayagraj recently. “Although the survey is to be done till March 23, the team that reached for the survey to rural areas has come to know about the damage suffered by over 10,000 farmers in just two days of the exercise,” a senior official of the district administration said.

“A demand of 6.86 crore for payments to these farmers as damages has already been made from the government,” he added. “After the recent rain and hailstorm, the team of revenue and agriculture departments has started conducting the survey to assess the damage and affected people. For this, a compensation of 6.86 crore has been demanded,” confirmed ADM (finance and revenue) Jagdamba Singh, who is also the district nodal officer in charge of all affairs related to natural disasters.

According to deputy director (Agriculture) Vinod Kumar Sharma, the joint team of revenue and agriculture departments during the survey found that in Koraon, crops worth 2 crore had been damaged while in Bara tehsil area, crops worth 50 lakh had been damaged. The deputy director said the team will submit the survey report by March 23.

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