Punjab records 61 pc lesser rainfall in June, Haryana 36 pc

Amid fear of a weak monsoon, the country's food bowl Punjab and neighbouring Haryana have received 61 per cent and 36 per cent lesser rainfall, respectively, in the month of June, according to a MeT department report.
The Union Territory of Chandigarh also witnessed 57 per cent lesser rainfall as against normal, as per a report prepared for the period from June 1 to June 28.
"Lesser rainfall has been observed in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh during June this year," Chandigarh Meteorological Department Director Surenderpaul said.
Punjab, the country's food bowl, received rainfall of 14.4-mm from June 1 to June 28 as against the normal of 37.1-mm, he said.

Neighbouring Haryana had rainfall of 24.4-mm as against normal of 38.1-mm, while Chandigarh received 43.6-mm rainfall in comparison to 102.2-mm recorded during the same period last year, the report states.
Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh had recorded excess rainfall of 110 per cent, 33 per cent and 170 per cent, respectively, during the month of June last year.

This year, the worst-hit districts in Punjab included Kapurthala (94 per cent), Hoshiarpur (92 per cent), Jalandhar (89 per cent) and Sangrur (86 per cent).
In Haryana, districts which had scanty rainfall were Sonepat (86 per cent), Panipat (83 per cent), Panchkula (80 per cent), Ambala (78 per cent) and Yamunanagar (72 per cent).

However, a few districts in both Punjab and Haryana have recorded excess rainfall: Bathinda (106 per cent), Muktsar (35 per cent), Rewari (104 per cent), Mahendergarh (45 per cent), Bhiwani (14 per cent), Fatehabad (9 per cent) and Sirsa (11 per cent), according to the report.