Heavy rain, hail damage crops in Karimnagar, Warangal districts

WARANGAL: Heavy rain, hailstorm and gusty winds from Sunday morning have caused havoc by destroying crops in erstwhile Karimnagar and Warangal districts.

Standing and harvested crop stocked at farms and purchasing centres got damaged under the impact of heavy downpour at Dharmaram, Mutharam, Mallapur, Huzurabad, Jammikunta, Karimnagar Rural, Mulugu, Mahabubabad, Bhupalpally, Narsampet and Narmetta mandals of both erstwhile Karimnagar and Warangal district.

In Kalvasriram mandal of Peddapalli, a farmer Janga Komuraiah (45) died after he got electrocuted due to lightning. Fire erupted at Zilla Parishad High School in Ibrahimpatnam mandal of Jagtial district after overhead electrical wires snapped and fell on the school. Furniture got damaged as a result.

Asbestos roofs of several roadside shops and tiles of some houses in many villages and towns got blown off. Power supply got disrupted in many areas due to uprooting of electric poles or snapping of electricity wires. Vehicular movement came to a standstill in some parts of both the districts with trees falling on roads.
Residents of several colonies in Karimnagar, Warangal and Hanamkonda received a shock when water entered their houses.

Farmers alleged that even though state government opened procurement centres one month ago, officials did not purchase their produce citing various reasons. They thus stored the grains outside the market yards, rice mills and purchasing centres, which got damaged in Sunday’s rains, causing losses to farmers.