Heavy rain lashes Kangra, wheat farmers elated

Dharamsala, January 24

Heavy rain lashed parts of Kangra valley today, bringing relief to wheat farmers. Rain ended the dry spell in the region due to which many farmers in Kangra valley had been advised to go for late sowing varieties of wheat.

In Kangra, about 80 per cent of farming is rain-fed and farmers are dependent on rain for good crops. Suresh Sharma, a farmer, said that rain brought relief to farmers, who had grown wheat and vegetables. While lower regions of Kangra received rain, higher reaches of Dhauladhars received snowfall throughout the day. There has been scanty snowfall in Dhauladhars that are the main source of water in Kangra valley.

Jal Shakti Department officials say that if it does not snow properly in the region, problems will be created for water supply schemes in the region, most of which are sourced from streams flowing from the Dhauladhars. Snow in higher reaches also brought down temperatures.