Floods in rest of Punjab,but rains elude Majha region

With no signs of monsoon yet,though the meteorological department predicts rain soon,farmers in the border districts of Amritsar,Gurdaspur,Tarn Taran and Ferozepur are a worried lot. The area has not received even one prominent shower till now and the monsoon is already late by more than a fortnight. “Nature is playing tricks. One side of the state is flooded and the other is hit by acute dry spell,” said Gurnam Singh,a farmer at Khawali village near Chogawan here.

Gurnam has sown paddy on 15 acres. The dry conditions are so strong that both his tubewells,running day and night,are failing to irrigate the entire land. “We have to use the diesel engines to run tubewells. We have been waiting for rain for the last two weeks. It is a difficult time,” he said. Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa,another farmer in Gurdaspur,says his farms at Quadian and Narote,too,are facing water shortage.

“The torrential rainfall in Patiala and neighbouring districts and in Haryana,and the dry spell in the rest of the region,show the changing patterns of the monsoon,which are not good for agriculture,” he said. His views are confirmed by agriculture experts.

Development Officer (Agriculture) Gurdeep Singh said: The irregular patterns of rain are a matter of concern for all. The sky must open up at the earliest if the crop is to be saved. The groundwater table is receding fast. The delayed monsoon is no doubt giving sleepless nights to all of us.” He added that the meteorological department was also predicting irregular patterns of rain.

According to the experts,the entire region usually receives rain almost simultaneously,but such irregular patterns have never been noticed in recent history. “The absence of rain will make it difficult for the paddy crop to survive any longer,” said Chief Agriculture Officer P S Sandhu. He,however,said though there is still sufficient time to sow Basmati,which is finding favour with farmers,rain is essential for the routine paddy crop.

Farmer leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said the not-so-satisfactory power supply and virtually nil canal water irrigation facilities in the border area are adding to their woes. “The only hope for the farmers is now the elusive rain,” he said.