Crops Damaged As Storms Rip Jangaon, Rajanna Sircilla

WARANGAL/KARIMNAGAR: Severe thunderstorms with hail and lightning ripped through Jangaon and Rajanna Sircilla districts on Friday night, damaging hundreds of acres of standing crops, injuring farmers and disrupting essential services.

At a paddy procurement centre in Alimpur, Bachannapet mandal (Jangaon), a lightning strike knocked nine farmers unconscious as they took shelter during the storm. The injured — Parupalli Nandini, Vangapalli Sushanth Reddy, Pakala Mallayya, Udem Mangamma, Bhimreddy Bharatamma, Bhimreddy Janardhan Reddy, Vangapalli Rangareddy, Dandyala Mallareddy and Ganta Padma — were rushed by 108 ambulance to Jangaon Area Hospital, where doctors confirmed they are now stable.

District collector Rizwan Basha Shaik inspected the Komalla procurement centre in Raghunathpally mandal on Saturday. He reassured farmers that every grain of waterlogged paddy will be purchased at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and ordered officials to update contact registers, strengthen tarpaulin coverage and implement weather-proofing measures at all centres.

In Rajanna Sircilla district, nearly 250 acres of paddy in Kothapalli village (Gambhiraopet mandal) was soaked after being laid out to dry. Mustabad mandal’s Mohinikunta and Maddikunta villages saw extensive damage to paddy fields and mango orchards. Strong winds also toppled a shelter at the Metpally bus-stand junction, blocking traffic for several hours.

Ibrahimpatnam mandal faced a prolonged blackout when 33/11 kV poles collapsed between Godur and Thimmapur villages. In Erdandi village, roofs of nine huts in Oddera Colony were torn off, destroying household goods. Local authorities have deployed repair teams and are coordinating relief efforts to restore power, clear road blockages and support affected farmers.