New Delhi, Wednesday, August 29, The northwest plains in Punjab and Haryana are continuing with showers right now but both of these states lacked rain when it mattered most. The rainfall has been deficient over these states during the month of June and July when main crops are sown.
In Haryana, the rainfall is less than half what it should have been. And, when the rains finally did come, the crops were already nearly dead; fit only to be used as animal feed. The state received a merge 67.8 mm of rain compared to 734 mm of rain during the month of June last year. In July, Haryana received 555.9 mm of rain compared to 812 mm of rain during the same month last year. In the month of August by which most of the sowing activities of main crops stop, the state received 1667 mm of rain compared to 1116 mm of rain during the same month last year.
Punjab received less than 40 % of the rain what it should have. The month of June received 39.5 mm of rain compared to 557 mm of rain during the same month last year. However, the month July did receive an almost equal amount of rainfall compared to July last year but again in August, rain was scanty by 40 percent compared to the rainfall received during August 2011. This has poorly affected the growth of crops in these states.
By this time of the year, the sugarcane crop should have been at least eight feet tall (2.4 meters tall). Rice paddy crops would have been lush and emerald green. Small patches of pearl millet, corn and sorghum would have dotted the landscape. But the sun shone on with determination through all of July and most of August so that the cane is now only knee-high at best and most of the rice crop is burnt.
