Patna, Mar 21 (IANS): The Bihar government on Tuesday said that it has decided to compensate farmers for their crop loss they suffered due to hailstorms in several districts.

Agriculture Minister Kumar Sarvajeet told the Assembly that crops on 16,531 hectares in Gaya, Muzaffarpur, and Sitamarhi districts have been destroyed in the last one week.

"We have directed the DMs of every district to calculate the loss of crops and submit the report to the Agriculture Ministry at the earliest. The agriculture officers have been asked to review the crop loss in their respective jurisdictions. As soon as all reports come before us, we will start the process of compensating them," het said.

"We were expecting that the farmers issues would be raised by the opposition leaders but it was not the case. They can raise issues related to wealthier people," he said.

Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary thanked the Agriculture Minister and MLA Akhtarul Islam for addressing the farmers issues brought to the notice of the house.