Delhi-NCR receives record rains, UP farmers stare at heavy losses

Paddy, maize, potatoes, bajra, urad worst affected crops

The national capital of Delhi received the second highest rainfall since 2007 during the past 24 hours till 8:30 a.m., according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data on Sunday, while farmers in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh are staring at heavy losses due to sub-normal rains during monsoon and excess rainfall after it receded the past few days.

According to IMD data, 67 of 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh had excess rainfall last week (after September 30).

The excess rainfall led to waterlogging in cities and towns across the state, and proved worse for farmers in rural pockets. The rains inundated the fields and damaged standing paddy, maize and newly cultivated potato crops. Millets like bajra and pulses like Urad have also been affected.

Surendra Pathak, a potato farmer in Etawah, said, "We sow the early potato varieties by the end of September. But this year, around seven hectares of our potato farm has been affected by heavy rains. The fields are filled with water which causes rotting of the sown potato tubers."

Pathak said if excess rains continued, it would prove harder to sow the late variety of potatoes.

Etawah recorded 81 mm of average rainfall in the first week of October which is 876 per cent more than the long period average (LPE) of 8.3 mm.

Gonda district recorded 248.6 mm rainfall in the same period which is 883 per cent higher than the long period average of 25.3 mm. Prabhat Kumar, a marginal farmer, is worried about his paddy crop.

"My standing crop of paddy has fallen to the ground due to heavy rains. I fear that at least half of my crop has been destroyed, and all of it will be lost if the weather doesn't improve in the coming days," he said.

Officials at the district level are conducting surveys on the direction of the state government to assess the damage caused due to heavy rains across Uttar Pradesh.

The situation the relief department is dealing with now is in stark opposite of what the situation was almost a fortnight ago. Last month, the relief department was collecting data regarding lack of rainfall during the monsoon.

As per IMD data, Uttar Pradesh recorded almost 30 per cent less rainfall this monsoon season (June 1 to September 30). Because of this, 53 of the total 75 districts recorded deficient rainfall. The lack of rainfall too harmed farmers by affecting their Kharif crops.

In Delhi meanwhile, the city weathered near ceaseless rains – measuring 74mm till 8.30 am Sunday – that brought the maximum temperature on Saturday down by 10 notches, closing in the day-night temperature gap to a record low.

The current rains in Delhi are not monsoon showers, which had receded from the city on September 29 after giving 516.9 mm of rainfall against a normal of 653.6 mm, it said.

According to IMD, post-monsoon rain in the area is due to the interactions of a western disturbance which lies as a trough in mid and upper air with a deep trough of easterly wind at a lower level.

Incessant rains for the second consecutive day in the national capital improved the air quality on Sunday to "satisfactory" level.

The air quality index recorded at 9 am was 54 which falls in the “good” category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board data.