Rain brings surprise, pollution down in Haryana

Tribune News Service

Hisar, November 15

A day after the bursting of crackers on Diwali night worsened the air quality, the region got a major respite from the month-long air pollution as rain lashed several parts of Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts on Sunday evening.

Despite the ban by the state government, Hisar town witnessed fireworks on Saturday night and the air pollution was recorded as “severe”. Adjoining districts including Jind and Fatehabad recorded “worse” air quality, as per the Central Pollution Control Board.

However, a good spell of around 20 mm rainfall has not only washed off the pollution but also brought cheer to farmers as the rabi sowing season is under way.

But some farmers complained of damage to the mustard crop as hail accompanied the showers in many parts of the region. Farmers will have to re-sow the crop, said a farmer from Adampur region.

Prof ML Khichar, head of the agriculture meteorology department in the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, said that the Met office had predicted the rain in advance and had recommended to the farmers to wait till today for sowing.

“The farmers, who have not irrigated the fields and waited till today for sowing, have benefited a lot. They will get moisture in the fields for wheat sowing which will prove beneficial,” he said. He said that the Western Disturbance which has caused rain in the region would cover the entire state by Monday.

The air quality index is likely to come down drastically as the rain has cleansed the environment to a large extent, said environmental scientist of Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJUST).