Cloudburst-like rain batters villages along Samruddhi Highway

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Heavy, cloudburst-like rain lashed villages along the Samruddhi Highway, Karmad on Friday, flooding homes and fields, and leaving kharif crops, fruits, and vegetables especially tomatoes badly damaged.

The downpour stretched from Naregaon to Jalna district, inundating roads and cutting off access to several villages. In Wadkha, Varzadi, Banegaon, and Jaipur, water gushed into the Lahuki project, while rainfall in Chikalthana, Warud Kaji, Palshi, and Hirapur boosted storage in the Sukhna dam. Farmers welcomed the rise in water levels but remain worried over heavy crop losses. Residents said this was the heaviest rainfall since the start of monsoon. While it eases the water crisis, thousands of farmers are now urging the revenue and agriculture departments for urgent surveys and timely compensation.