Mumbai, April 7 Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have damaged crops on over 2.05 lakh hectares of land in Maharashtra, with 29 districts reporting significant losses between March and early April, officials from the agriculture department said on Tuesday.
According to preliminary estimates, crops on 1.22 lakh hectares were damaged in the second half of March, while 82,704 hectares were affected in early April, they said.
Nashik, Akali Nagar, Jalgaon, and Dhule have reported extensive damage, with significant losses also recorded in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Buldhana.
Parts of Pune, Solapur, Sangli, and Jalna districts, as well as the Vidarbha, Konkan, and Marathwada regions, were also affected.
A wide variety of crops, including cereals such as wheat, maize, and jowar, pulses such as gram, and cash crops such as onion, have been damaged. Farmers cultivating bananas, mangoes, grapes, pomegranates, watermelons, muskmelons, citrus fruits, and vegetables have also suffered losses.
The figures are based on preliminary assessments, and detailed crop damage surveys are underway at the district level, officials said, adding that the state government will decide on relief measures and compensation after the final reports are compiled.
