Rain lashes Haryana, cotton farmers worried
Rain lashed parts of Haryana on Monday, bringing the mercury down by few notches in several districts that were grappling with intense heat.
The districts of Rohtak, Jind, Bhiwani, Hisar, Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat and Fatehabad have been receiving light to moderate rains since early Monday morning.
While the rains have brought relief to residents, they have increased the worries of cotton farmers that have become vulnerable to whitefly attack on their crops.
Raj Singh, the head of agriculture and meteorological department at Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar, advised farmers to pump out waters from their fields as soon as possible to prevent whitefly attacks on cotton saplings.
He said the present forecast suggests a good monsoon till August 9 in Haryana. The district administrations in some areas have issued a warning of high rains between August 6 and 9.
The average high and low temperatures for Monday in Haryana were 30 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius, respectively.
No damages due to rains were reported anywhere.
Heavy rain was reported in parts of northern districts of state including Karnal, Yamunanagar, Kaithal and Kurukshetra.
In Yamunanagar district, where the standing crops were already submerged due to overflowing Yamuna river, heavy rain has been continuing for the past 24 hours, worsening the situation further.
However, officials in the state agriculture department said the rainfall is so far good for paddy, sugarcane and other crops even as it can cause harm to vegetables.
They advised farmers to take out the excess water from their fields wherever the crop is under water.
officials at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chandigarh, predicted more rains in Yamunanagar, Karnal, Kaithal and Kurukshetra districts.