Lucknow: Hailstorms over past few days resulted in crop damage across 244.23 hectares in 21 districts. Govt has so far issued relief of Rs 13,34,217 to 286 farmers.A govt spokesperson said impact of excessive rainfall has been more severe. Crops over 4,053.11 hectares have been damaged across 17 districts. “During this period, 14,207 farmers were affected, out of which 9,992 farmers have been provided financial assistance amounting to Rs 4,47,24,779 so far,” the official said.Unseasonal heavy rainfall between Mar 15 and Mar 22, led to crop damage over 11 hectares in five villages of Saharanpur district, affecting 44 farmers. In Lalitpur district, crop damage was recorded across 1,650.75 hectares in three tehsils, impacting a total of 3,142 farmers.IMD has issued warning of unseasonal rain, hailstorm, lightning and storm for various districts till Mar 31.Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed district administrations to carry out immediate assessment of crop losses and issue relief to farmers at the earliest.Principal secretary revenue Aparna U on Saturday reviewed distribution of relief amount given for crop damage, loss of life, house damage, cattle loss etc caused by unseasonal rain.She said relief commissioner’s office released Rs 20 crore to districts Mar 15 onwards. She said if there was any shortage of budget in any district, they should inform the relief commissioner’s office immediately and also appealed to general public to register their complaint with the said office if there was difficulty in receiving relief amount.
