UP: Hail damaged crops worth Rs 255 crore

The most recent damage had taken place on March 12 and 13, when as many as 14 districts of the state were affected. These include Fatehpur, Azamgarh, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Bahraich, Gonda, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Amethi, Jhansi, Etawah, Lakhimpurkhiri, Mirzapur and Sonebhadra. In just 24 hours, while around one lakh hectare of nearly three lakh farmers was affected due to hailstorm and heavy rainfall, nearly 24,000 hectares had seen over 33 per cent of crop damage. Based on the estimated reports by the districts, so far nearly Rs 66 crore has been sanctioned to districts for relief so far. Around Rs 18.52 crore was allotted to eight districts on March 13, whereas Rs 27.21 crore were allocated between March 1 and March 12.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered that compensation of Rs 4 lakh each be handed over to the families of farmers who died in incidents related to hailstorm and rain.