NEW DELHI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Unseasonal rains accompanied by hailstorms over the past 24 hours severely damaged the ready-to-harvest wheat crop across thousands of hectares of agricultural land in parts of north India, particularly Punjab state, said media reports on Wednesday.
The ripened wheat crop was mainly damaged in Punjab's Malwa region, comprising Muktsar, Fazilka, Mansa and Bathinda districts. Similarly, damage to standing wheat crop was also reported from parts of Punjab's adjoining state of Haryana.
State and district-level officials were busy assessing the damages, after which compensation would be announced for the affected farmers, said a Punjab government official. ■
