30 farmers dead in 4 days as rain, hail hit north India - Farm distress appears to have

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Farm distress appears to have peaked following the latest round of rain and hailstorms in north India late last week which inflicted further damage to crops already hit by unseasonal showers since mid-February, with reports of a spate of deaths coming in from affected districts.

Pic Courtesy : PTI

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Reports from the ground suggest at least 30 farmers have allegedly died of trauma or suicide in the past four days alone in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, although the state governments have not yet recognized most of these as deaths related to crop damage.

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The UP government said on Monday damage to crops had now spread to 40 districts, up from the 33 districts declared rain-hit earlier. The government also reassessed the loss to life and property and said the monetary losses were now upwards of Rs 1,100 crore.

Pic Courtesy : BCCL

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More than 5 lakh farming families, spanning more than 70% of UP's rural population, have been affected by the unseasonal rains. Although unofficial reports put farmer deaths in the state in the month of March at 100, the government confirmed 35 farmer deaths, all accidental deaths related to weather, according to UP chief secretary Alok Ranjan. A consolidated compensation of Rs 7 lakh each has been paid.

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None of the 24 deaths reported from the ground since Saturday in UP figure in the official list, although the government said it would be assess these deaths shortly.

Pic Courtesy : BCCL