Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The sudden burst of rain across Uttar Pradesh may have brought respite from the humid weather,but for the farmers across the state this has been a double blow. The states rice belt,comprising Eastern and Central UP,was suffering due to drought and the sowing of the rice crop had already been delayed. With the heavy rain,the early rice crop,barely a fortnight away from ripening, will suffer major damage across the state.
According to the agri-meteorology experts,the early rice crop,spread across 17 lakh hectares in UP,will suffer a big blow due to the rainfall. In the last two days more than 50 districts of the state have witnessed medium above 30 mm and heavy above 200 mm rainfall,with Shahjehanpur in central UP getting maximum rainfall of 240 mm on Tuesday. With eastern UP expecting more rainfall,things may take a turn for the worse.
The rains have even brought bad news for the rabi crop. Oilseeds like Toria and Mustard,which have been sowed just a week ago,have also been damaged. Said Dr Tripathi,This was the time for the sowing of the oilseeds,as the monsoons are generally over and the air is dry. The oilseeds do not require much moisture in the soil. The rains,said Dr Tripathi,have already damaged around 27,000 hectares of oilseed fields in Central UP. We have already received reports from Agra and surrounding districts of damage to oilseeds,which will increase with each passing day if the water is standing, said Tripathi.
However,there is a ray of hope. It may still be possible to salvage the late rice crop,sown after July. Dr Vinod Kumar Tiwari of Uttar Pradesh Council for Agricultural Research UPCAR,who is also the coordinator of the Crop Weather Watch Group CWWG said that the late variety would not suffer much damage as it is still in the pre-flowering stage. It is still growing and hence,the rains will not damage it. The late variety in rice is in the panicle initiation stage,just before flowering. So there is hope for this one, said Dr Tripathi.
With the weather department announcing more rains in the next 48 hours for the eastern part of the state,the farmers in the state are bracing themselves for tougher times ahead.
