Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, March 20 Two people have died and crops on an area of 11,500 hectares have been damaged due to unseasonal rains in six districts of Maharashtra's Marathwada since March 16, an official said on Friday.
Quoting data from the divisional commissioner's office, he said unseasonal rains and hailstorms were recorded in 533 villages of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Nanded, Beed, Latur, and Dharashiv districts.
"Two people, identified as Gulab Markad (33) of Hingoli and Dipika Rathod (16) of Nanded, died due to lightning strikes between March 16 and 19. Forty-one animals also lost their lives in incidents related to the rain during this period," he said, quoting the primary loss survey report.
Crops on 11,572 hectares of land belonging to 20,896 farmers in 533 villages were damaged, he added.