Widespread rains across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh yesterday brought misery to farmers as untimely showers have affected the standing paddy crop in the agrarian states.
The maximum temperature at most places has been below normal due to the downpour, weather officials said here.
Farmers in both Punjab and Haryana said rains during this period were not good as the harvesting of the paddy crop was on.
“The harvesting is on and the rain will increase the moisture content in the crop that will get damaged if the rain persists,” farmer Ajaib Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib told IANS.
Reports said that the paddy crop, which is almost ready for harvest, was damaged in some areas.
Procurement of paddy in Punjab and Haryana is scheduled to begin from October 1.
Officials from the Agriculture and Food and Supplies Departments are expecting a bumper paddy crop in both states this year.
An official spokesman said arrangements have been made to procure the expected 200 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in Punjab.
In Chandigarh, traffic was affected as water accumulated at many places in the city. Complaints of water-logging were also received by authorities in the adjoining towns of Panchkula in Haryana and Mohali in Punjab.
Traffic on highways in Punjab and Haryana was slow due to the rain.
The Punjab government on Friday issued an alert for heavy rains across the state till tomorrow.
According to information received from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the state is likely to experience widespread rainfall till tomorrow.




Related Story