Squall accompanied with rainfall and hailstorm on Friday night has caused widespread crop damage in the district, with farmers claiming that the unexpected change in weather is likely to cause a 30% dip in wheat crop yield. As weather conditions were favourable during winter, farmers were expecting bumper crop this season. Farmers said that wheat was sown in over one lakh hectares of land in the district, 30% of which was damaged in Friday’s rainfall. They claimed that the standing crop was also affected due to the winds and flooding of fields. According to sources from the meteorological department, the district received 6.4 mm rainfall on Friday. Rural areas also witnessed hailstorm resulting in extensive crop damage. District agriculture officer said, Rainfall and hailstorm in April is not good for any crop. Moisture badly affects the quality of wheat harvested. Farmers have also reported damage to standing crop. The extent of damage cannot be calculated at present. The ground assessment of the situation will begin from April 09.