KARIMNAGAR/ JAGTIAL/ PEDDAPALLI/ NIZAMABAD/ ADILABAD/ JANGAON: Hail, strong winds and unseasonal rain on Monday night caused widespread crop damage across the erstwhile Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Warangal districts, destroying harvest-ready produce and leaving farmers distressed.
Jagtial was among the worst hit, with paddy, maize, gingelly and mango crops suffering heavy losses. In Karimnagar, maize was flattened in Ganneruvaram mandal and paddy fields were waterlogged. In Nagulapeta village of Korutla mandal, part of a building collapsed onto a parked car.
Farmers also reported losses at procurement centres, where maize brought for sale was soaked. Itkyala Shanker from Peddapalli, who cultivated six acres, said both his maize and paddy crops were damaged and sought government support.
In Nizamabad, heavy winds and hailstorms affected 76 villages in 14 mandals, including Nizamabad Rural, Bodhan, Armoor and Balkonda. Preliminary estimates show 2,054 farmers suffered losses over 2,295 acres. Damage includes paddy (2,295 acres), maize (70 acres), sesamum (73 acres) and mango (49 acres), along with smaller losses in papaya and water apple. Mango fruit drop and turmeric drying were also affected.
In Adilabad, rain and gales damaged hundreds of acres of maize, jowar and mango across several mandals, with harvest-stage crops worst hit.
At Jangaon Agricultural Market, maize was soaked in rain amid delays in procurement and lack of drying platforms. Farmer T Kumar Swamy said his maize crop, cultivated with an investment of `2 lakh, was entirely damaged, and sought compensation.