Light rain brings cheer to Malwa paddy growers

Bathinda/Muktsar, July 3

Cloudy weather and light rain on Saturday brought smiles on the faces of farmers, who had been worried as their crops had started drying up due to a long dry spell in the region. Showers decreased their dependency on tube wells to irrigate their fields.

Reports indicated that various parts of the region were lashed with light to moderate rain today, giving farmers the hope of saving their kharif crops, especially paddy, cotton and green fodder, which were severely affected by the dry spell.

Gurmeet Singh of Bathinda said: “Rain has come as a much-needed respite amid rising temperature. We hope our cotton fields will be saved now.”

Farmers had been protesting the closure of canals and irregular power supply for the past few days. “We were facing trouble in irrigating the fields. Now, the rain has reduced our worries for at least two days. It will also help in the speedy growth of the paddy crop,” said Mukhtiar Singh, a farmer.

Dr GS Romana of the Regional Research Centre of the Punjab Agricultural University said today’s rain would benefit all kharif crops.

Residents also welcomed the sudden change in the weather. “In the past week, hardly anyone visited the market. Now, as the weather is pleasant, we hope to get some business for the next two-three days,” said a shopkeeper in Muktsar. — TNS