At least 91 people have died, while over 25 lakh hectares of farmland were destroyed due to excess rainfall in Marathwada in the last four months, an official said on Wednesday.
According to a report released by the divisional commissioner's office in Marathwada, several areas in the region have faced losses due to excess rainfall between June 1 and September 28.
Over 25 lakh hectares of farmland belonging to more than 35.64 lakh farmers were damaged due to heavy rains so far this year, the official said.
At least 91 people have died in rain-related accidents, of which 22 deaths were reported in the last couple of days, he said, adding that 4,390.5 km of roads and 1,077 bridges in eight districts of Marathwada were damaged.
Apart from this, 116 government buildings, 71 zilla parishad schools and 205 lakes also saw damages this year, the official said.
According to the primary report, 14 houses collapsed, while 2,072 saw partial damages due to rainfall.
Nanded was the worst-affected district, where over 5.77 lakh hectares of land belonging to 8,38,645 farmers were affected, the report stated.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLC Ambadas Danve has written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray demanding direct aid to farmers owning up to 2 hectares of land.
In his letter to Mr Thackeray, Ambadas Danve also urged that wells which were damaged due to flooding be repaired through employment guarantee schemes across Marathwada.
Moreover, the Sena leader sought that the insurance aid of farmers who have paid premiums should be sanctioned without any survey, and district collectors in Marathwada should be given orders for the same.
Apart from this, All India Majalis E Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Imtiaz Jaleel and NCP MLC Satish Chavan have demanded that a wet drought be declared in the region.
