Mumbai: Maharashtra has been battered by unseasonal rains accompanied by hailstorm that has killed more than a dozen people, injuring many and causing extensive damage to crops and property.

With nearly five million farmers being severely affected by this catastrophe, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Election Commission to apprise them of the situation and said the government would go all out to provide assistance to farmers whilst taking care not to violate the model code of conduct during elections. Chavan has already commenced on a tour of the affected areas.

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who visited the worst-hit regions on Monday, announced that the affected farmers shall be given aid and compensation on priority. A central team will travel to the affected areas to assess the damage and losses suffered by farmers, submit its report and later announce relief measures, said Pawar.

Politicians are wary of announcing relief measures due to the ongoing model code of conduct and be censured by the Election Commission. However, Opposition leaders are keen that the victims be given quick relief. BJP leader Gopinath Munde has criticised the state government of being heartless in the face of this natural calamity and not providing timely assistance.

Some have already started extending help as in Madha constituency in Solapur district where it was reported that a local political leader is helping farmers by picking up the grapes affected by the hailstorm and taking them to wineries so that the grapes are not wasted or thrown away.

Out of 35 districts in Maharashtra, 28 districts are badly affected and the worst affected are Baramati, Pune, Beed, Latur, Osmanabad, Nashik, Akola, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Nanded and some others.

The widespread damage caused by the hailstorm covers thousands of hectares of fields where wheat, jowar and grams are grown and which have been completely razed. Fruit crops including grapes, oranges, bananas and pomegranates have also been destroyed.

The hail of ice carpeted fields and roads and had to be cleared by bulldozers even as people were shocked and taken aback by the unimagined weather conditions. Villagers everywhere have been complaining how their houses have been destroyed, particularly makeshift roofs being broken or blown off by falling ice. The damage could run into billions of rupees across the state.

Meanwhile, after almost a week of misery of being lashed by unseasonal weather, farmers in Maharashtra and some other states may still have to go through difficult times. Indian climate change scientists have warned that this freak weather may continue for some more days.