Unseasonal rain, strong winds and thunderstorms have hit northern India in the middle of the kharif harvest, flattening standing paddy in parts of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and soaking paddy stored in the open at grain markets, Rural Voice reports. Farmers fear losses in grain quality, procurement and storage.
Punjab recorded 2.3 mm of rain in the 24 hours from 8.30 am on 10 October, against a normal 0.4 mm, or 477 percent above normal. Fazilka had the most, 28 mm, followed by Faridkot (9 mm), Muktsar (7.7 mm), Pathankot (3.9 mm), Ferozepur (2.4 mm) and Bathinda (1.3 mm). Parts of the Fazilka grain market were reportedly under about three feet of water, and paddy in the open was drenched at Khanna, Batala and Gurdaspur.
Harvesting in Punjab was already slow: only about 12 percent of the crop had been cut by 10 October, and waterlogged fields could delay combines by four to seven days in affected areas. Wet paddy, including grain in sacks, risks spoiling and sprouting if it is not dried quickly. In Haryana, flattened paddy and rain-soaked produce were reported at the Ambala and Karnal markets, and farmers complained of poor drainage and too little cover at procurement centres.
In Uttar Pradesh, trees were uprooted and hail fell in some places, after heavy rain had already damaged kharif crops in late September. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told district officials to help affected farmers. On 12 October the state said Rs 493 crore was being paid into the bank accounts of more than 900,000 farmers hit by floods, excess rain, hail and cyclones; losses from the latest rain still have to be assessed.
No consolidated official estimate of the October losses in the three states was available. The immediate needs, the report says, are draining fields and markets, covering and drying paddy and assessing losses quickly so that compensation follows verified damage.
The India Meteorological Department forecast more rain, thunderstorms and winds of 50-60 km/h in parts of Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh on 12 October, and winds of 40-50 km/h in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi on 13 October.
Source: Rural Voice
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