Cyclone Ockhi: Untimely rainfall and hailstorm damages rabi crops in Maharashtra

The untimely heavy rainfall and hailstorm are likely to damage the Rabi reason crops mainly -- wheat, barley, sesame, mustard, peas, maize, linseed, gram, cumin, onion, tomato, potato and oat in Maharashtra.

The Rabi crops are sown in winter and harvested in spring. The Rabi season starts from October-end, which also is the onset of winter. The weather bureau of Mumbai has predicted heavy rainfall warning for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts in north Konkan, Nandurbar, Dhule, Nasik and Jalgaon districts in north and central Maharashtra. 

Cyclone Ockhi had left behind a trail of destruction in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep Islands, is currently located over east central Arabian Sea, around 540 km southwest of Mumbai and 720km south-southwest of Surat, Gujarat, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.

“This year, we could not get the cotton crops properly because of bollworm. It had damaged the entire cotton crops when we were about to reap. After, this we were expected the losses made in Karip reason can be recovered in rabi. Now, this untimely rainfall due to Ockhi cyclone our rabi crops will also get damaged. It is a double whammy for us,” said Tukaram Patil, a farmer from Jalgaon.

Patil said that the government should immediately assess the damage and conduct the panchnama and the compensations should be given to them. “This is a natural disaster. The government should either pay us through our crops insurance or other schemes to farmers. We are literarily devastated,” said Patil.