Punjab gets surplus rain, Haryana runs deficit

With nearly 25 percent more rainfall than normal, Punjab and Chandigarh have largely witnessed a good monsoon so far while parts of Haryana received much less rainfall this year, Met office here said Monday.

Patiala in Punjab saw 441 mm of rainfall this season (from June 1 to July 22), 218 mm more than normal. Ludhiana and Amritsar got 362 and 254 mm of rain, 164 and 71 mm above normal.

Met officials said that many parts of Haryana, however, received deficient rainfall so far this season. The deficiency has been over 20 percent in some areas like Mewat, Fatehabad, Jhajjar and some other districts.

However, the Met officials said that some areas in Haryana like Yamunanagar have received heavy rainfall - Yamunanagar district got nearly 65 percent more rainfall.

The Yamuna river, which flows through the district, and other rivers have created a flood like situation in recent days with more rainfall in the catchment areas of these rivers in neighbouring Uttarakhand.

A few villages and agricultural lands around them were inundated last week in Yamunanagar district following over-flow of water from rivers. However, the water level receded Sunday.

Ambala district received 494 mm rainfall, 144 mm above normal. Karnal and Hisar districts got 271 and 235 mm rainfall this season.

The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) earlier cautioned that water could be discharged from the Bhakra and Pong dams if the heavy inflow of rainwater in these reservoirs continued.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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