Hailstorm damages crops, fruits on 20 k hectares land in M'wada

Aurangabad, March 22:

Hailstorm and unseasonal rains lashed 184 villages of 17 tehsils in Marathwada region.

It damaged crops and fruits cultivated on 20,538 hectares of land as per the Divisional Revenue Administration's preliminary survey. The region has been experiencing rains for the past three days.

One person died in Aurangabad while another injured in Parbhani.

A total of 32 villages in five tehsils of Aurangabad, 79 villages in Jalna, nine Parbhani, 62 in Beed, two in Osmanabad were affected by a hailstorm.

Crops on 5,450 hectares of Jirayat land was damaged while 10,000 hectares of Bagayat (irrigated) land.

Fruits cultivated on 5,085 hectares of land were also affected. A total of 247 cattle, including 226 at Beed and 12 in Jalna were killed.