Jaipur: A thick blanket of hail covered parts of Rajasthan giving them a Kashmir-look. While the pictures have gone viral, the farmers in the areas have been badly affected and are demanding compensation.
Udaipur and surrounding districts like Rajsamand during the weekend were lashed with heavy hailstorm, strong winds and lightning. All the roads, houses and fields were covered with hail which appeared to be snow.
The scene resembled snow in Kashmir. The pictures of the white sheet covering the lake city of Udaipur have gone viral on social media.
However, for the farmers this hailstorm has created worries as the standing crops are destroyed now. The wheat and paddy crops have been badly affected.
In Udaipur district, rain started on Saturday evening which was accompanied with a hailstorm around 4 p.m. This phase continued till Sunday morning. On the Udaipur-Chittor highway and Dabok to Singhania University road, a blanket of snow was seen.
Later, heavy rain also started in Lake City on Sunday night which continued till Monday morning dipping the temperature and increasing the cold.
The Udaipur district administration has issued toll free numbers for the insured farmers regarding the damage caused to the notified crops (wheat, joe, gram, mustard, isabgol).
Additional District Collector (City) Prabha Gautam said that in view of heavy rainfall and hailstorm in the district, holiday has been declared till January 31 for students up to Class 5. He said that this order will be effective on all government and private schools. Schools have been directed to follow the order.
Meanwhile, MP Diya Kumari has demanded compensation for the huge losses caused to the farmers due to unseasonal rain and hailstorm.
The MP said that due to rain and hailstorm in Rajsamand Lok Sabha constituency and various places of Rajasthan, farmers’ crops have suffered heavy losses. This time is very sensitive for the farmers.
Demanding compensation to the farmers from the Chief Minister, Diya Kumari said that the administration and concerned officials should immediately initiate the process of compensation for the loss caused to the farmers by getting evaluation done.
–IANS