Storm leaves a trail of destruction

Hungenahalli was lashed by a thunderstorm and hail on Wednesday. The storm stripped away roofs from homes, flattened standing crops, toppled electric poles and in all, caused some Rs 10 to 15 lakhs worth of damage.

As many as six electric poles were knocked down after being struck with tree branches. The walls of the Government Higher Primary School were damaged after branches from a nearby Peepal tree snapped and fell.

Heavy winds tore away asbestos-sheet roofs from many houses, leaving inhabitants at the mercy of the weather. One resident, Venkatesh, told Deccan Herald that his pair of oxen had narrowly escaped being crushed after the roof of their cowshed collapsed. The strom has also partially collapsed the roof of the village auditorium.

Crops destroyed

The hailstorm is also estimated to have destroyed one acre of drumstick and four acres of tomato. In addition, 15 coconut trees have been uprooted.

Due to the collapse of electric poles there was no power supply in the village from Wednesday evening. Bescom officials were seen removing damaged poles early on Thursday morning.

Hungenahalli Gram Panchayat president Sampath Kumar has demanded that the government provide compensation to the aggrieved families.

Several farmers in the taluk, who normally cultivated vegetables, had taken up sericulture because of the erratic monsoon. Many were affected by the storm. The worst damage was done to six acres of mulberry owned by Seenappa, a sericulturist. Seenappa said that he was not in a financial position to replace his losses.

Tahsildar T A Hanumantharaya, Horticulture department’s Assistant Director Anand and his team inspected the damage. They also promised to obtain compensation from the government for victims.