Twenty-three people died and 102 others injured in a recent hailstorm in Madhya Pradesh, which also caused extensive damage to crops in 30 districts, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Thursday.
As per the preliminary report, 720 villages in 30 districts were affected by the unseasonal rains and hailstorm and crops in 31,850 hectares land were lost, Chouhan told reporters in Bhopal.
The figures can rise as reports from other areas were pouring in, he said adding, apart from loss of human life to lightning and storms, around 64 animals were also killed.
Maintaining that his government was serious about the plight of farmers, the chief minister said instructions were issued to senior officials to estimate the losses so as to start relief work.