Summer crops under threat as more rain in store

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

If unseasonal March rains were not enough to dash the hopes of farmers across the country, the met prediction for coming days may spell more doom on them.

The crops on 106.73 lakh hectares across the northern, central and western parts have already been damaged and the freak weather appears to be affecting the sowing patterns of rabi rice and summer crops.

As per the Agriculture Ministry, the area under Rabi rice stands at 39.43 lakh hectares as compared to 43.55 lakh hectares this time last year. The total area under Rabi rice and summer crops (which also includes pulses and oilseeds) is 52.20 lakh hectares as compared to 55.28 lakh hectares at this time last year.

The IMD has predicted more bad weather — rain, squalls/hailstorms and thundershowers — across the country. Strong surface winds would prevail over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh on March 29 and March 30, says the Met office.

Over these two days, thunderstorms accompanied with hailstorm/squall can be expected over the plains of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, West Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Heavy rain would occur at a few places over Jammu and Kashmir and at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the IMD said.

Heavy rains would continue the next day (March 31) at some isolated places in Jammu and Kashmir. In the coming three days, rains and thundershowers have been predicted over most parts of Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. On March 30, some isolated places over Telangana, North Interior Karnataka, Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada would experience thunderstorms accompanied with hailstorm.