Haryana: Unseasonal rain and hailstorm destroy crops, farmers distressed

Unseasonal rainfall and hailstorm in Rohtak, Haryana, have destroyed the crops like wheat, mustard, etc leaving the farmers distressed.

“The rains have severely damaged the crops. For the third time, we have to sow the wheat. This is a big loss for the farmers. This might be of benefit to some farmers but definitely, most of the farmers have been affected,” Suresh, a farmer told a news agency. 

The economy of the region is mainly based on agriculture and is supported by other activities like dairy, horticulture, trade, etc. Major crops grown in the northern state are wheat, paddy, jawar, bajra, mustard, and sugarcane. 

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The farmers had said that the hailstorm, which occurred a few days ago, has ruined the paddy crop and filled the wheat fields with water, whereas other farmers complained about the delay in sowing of wheat due to lack of labour. 

Chattar Singh, another farmer said, “The unseasonal rainfall and hailstorm have brought no good to the farmers. The process of sowing wheat was also not done on time due to lack of labour. No farmer has been benefited, it has only caused us losses.”

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday, December 13 released a weather warning, with predictions of thunderstorm and or hailstorm accompanied by lightning in Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and East Madhya Pradesh.

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For the next week, the weather forecast has predicted fog and mist in Haryana.  

Farmers said that the unseasonal rains have damaged the crops many times, compelling them to start the sowing process again.

Another farmer Brijesh added, “It took us three days to sow the wheat which was all destroyed by the weather. We again have to sow the wheat. The rains have damaged the crops multiple times. We have to start from scratch every time.”

Earlier in October this year, hundreds of acres of paddy crop in Rohtak were destroyed because of the hailstorm. 

(With inputs from ANI)

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