Unseasonal rains claimed 26 lives, damaged crops on 57,000 ha

Mumbai, Mar 12 (UNI) The unseasonal rains and hailstorms in Maharashtra have claimed lives of 26 people while damaging crops on 57,000 hectares of land, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said today.

While, talking to reporters during the customary tea meet on the eve of the Budget Session of the State Legislature. He said compensation would be paid to the kin of the victims in acordance to the norms set after last year's deluge in Mumbai and elsewhere in the State.

The next-of-kin of the dead will be paid Rs one lakh in case the deceased was an adult while the compensation will be Rs 50,000 in case of minors' deaths. Assistance will also be extended to help the affected people to undertake repairs of their houses, Mr Deshmukh said.

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