Mercury drops as heavy rain lashes parts of Punjab and Haryana; farmers wary

Chandigarh, September 25

Heavy rain lashed several parts of Punjab and Haryana, leading to a dip in the temperature, the weather office said on Sunday.

According to the Meteorological Department, several places in the two states, including their common capital Chandigarh, received a heavy downpour in the 24-hour period ending 8:30 am on Sunday.

It has been continuously raining in Chandigarh since Saturday morning, with the city receiving 120.6 mm rain in the 24-hour period.

In Punjab, Amritsar received 17.8 mm rain, Ludhiana 148.4 mm, Patiala 99.7 mm, Pathankot 76.7 mm, Bathinda 51.4 mm, Faridkot 36.4 mm, Gurdaspur 76 mm, Fatehgarh Sahib 130.5 mm while Rupnagar received 92.5 mm rain.

In Haryana, Ambala received 107.2 mm rain, Hisar 43.1 mm, Rohtak 165.5 mm, Sirsa 40.7 mm, Fatehabad 194.5 mm and Jhajjar 73 mm.

Meanwhile, farmers in both the states rued the untimely rain as strong winds have flattened the standing Rabi crop at many places. They say the heavy rainfall and waterlogging in fields will lead to higher moisture content in the paddy grains that could lead to lower remuneration to farmers due to the deterioration of quality of the grain. Agencies