The weather has taken a sudden turn in the month of October. Snowfall has shown its effect in Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. Fresh snowfall occurred in Rohtang Pass and Gulmarg, and the Amarnath cave also received snowfall. Moderate to heavy rain and hailstorm in Punjab increased the feeling of coldness in the weather. Temperatures dropped below 20 degrees in various districts. According to the Meteorological Department, there is a yellow alert for rain for the next three-four days.
This means that the rain is not going to stop yet. The rain has damaged the crops that are standing in the fields. The paddy crop that was harvested and brought to the markets, got wet in many places which increased the trouble for the farmers. They are worried that if the moisture content in the paddy increases then they will face difficulty in selling it. Sunday’s rain also disrupted paddy harvesting in some places. Currently a campaign is being run to not burn stubble in the fields.
The effect of El Nino has made the rains disappear in some places and has presented partial drought there. Now the excessive rains are also creating problems. If we look back, every year this problem arises that the crop lying in the markets has to face rain. On Sunday, rains lashed nearly all districts of Punjab, affecting the standing paddy crops in the fields and the markets. Not only farmers, but also commission agents who had already made deals for their crops were affected.
The matter didn’t end there. The Meteorological Department is saying that the weather will continue to be unfavorable in most districts of Punjab for the next few days, so the yellow alert is not being lifted. What can a farmer do with an alert? He sits with his head in his hands. Whether it rains heavily or not, he faces misfortune. Even if the crop reaches the markets safely, it cannot be lifted on time due to the lack of sufficient warehouses. Warehouses can’t even handle last year’s harvest, so how will the new crop be handled? When will this misfortune end? At the very least, there should be a complete system for harvesting so that weather doesn’t play a villain every year and ruin the farmer’s fortunes. The Punjab government announced the construction of new warehouses with central government assistance, but everything takes time. Even if it’s late, the problem must be resolved.