Cloud cover over harvesting leaves Sirsa farmers worried

Anil Kakkar

Sirsa, April 13

Clouds have been looming over Sirsa since Saturday morning, with the farmers wishing that there is no rain. Meanwhile, wheat harvesting is underway across the entire district, with farmers actively selling their produce in markets. However, the changing weather has left them worried. In addition to mustard, the district is witnessing a bumper wheat harvest this season.

Wheat continues to flood the markets. The Met Department had said more clouds and rain was likely over the next two days in the district, posing a threat to crops. On Saturday, the temperature dropped to 33°C, with a minimum of 22°C, providing residents with some relief from the heat. Nevertheless, the farmers were worried about the implications.

The wheat crop in the district is fully ripe and harvesting has commenced in many areas. Additionally, 60 per cent of the mustard crop has already been harvested.

The adverse weather conditions dampened the spirits of the farmers on Saturday. Farmers Tarsem Singh, Satnam Singh, and Rajendra Singh, among others, expressed concerns about the potential heavy losses if it rained in the district. They fear that rain could severely damage the crops.

After harvesting, the farmers were transporting their mustard and wheat directly to the grain markets and procurement centres. However, due to the limited shed space, not all produce could be stored under cover, forcing farmers to unload their crops in the open. This exposed them to the risk of significant losses if rain occurred. The authorities and community leaders were urging farmers to cover their crops properly while bringing these to the mandis to mitigate potential damage from rain.

More than 200,000 bags of wheat were still to be lifting in the market. Deputy Commissioner RK Singh visited the grain markets of the district on Saturday to assess the procurement process and directed officials to take every possible measure to protect the crops from rain.

Limited sheds, grains unloaded in open

• Adverse weather conditions dampened the spirits of farmers on Saturday. Several farmers, including Tarsem Singh, Satnam Singh and Rajendra Singh, expressed concerns over potential losses if it rains in the district. They fear that the rain can severely damage the crops.
• After harvesting, the farmers are transporting their mustard and wheat crops to grain markets and procurement centres. However, due to limited space, the entire produce cannot be stored under sheds, forcing them to unload their crops in the open.