Absence of monsoon disappoints farmers

THE FARMERS, who dreamt of reaping a good crop, have been disappointed by the erratic behaviour of the monsoon. They had acted upon the encouraging forecasts made by the Met Office and the suggestions given by the agro-scientists about the sowing of crops.

THE FARMERS, who dreamt of reaping a good crop, have been disappointed by the erratic behaviour of the monsoon.

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They had acted upon the encouraging forecasts made by the Met Office and the suggestions given by the agro-scientists about the sowing of crops.

According to weather forecasts, the monsoon was likely to arrive on time this year. The metrological experts expected mild to heavy rainfall by June 28.

However, the monsoon did not reach many areas of the State even today.

The agro-scientists at the Chandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture Technology University (CSA) had advised the farmers to sow sorghum , paddy, black gram, seasam, sunflower, sugar cane, pearl millet and all other kharif crops.

The farmers, acting upon the advice of the agro-scientists, sowed the crops at the right time. They even transplanted the paddy in the fields, but in the absence of rain and, the crops are on the verge of weathering.

A few farmers contacted the agro-scientists to seek their help in protecting the crop. They told them that at present, in the absence of adequate power supply to irrigation, they were forced to spend Rs 200 per hour for irrigating the crops by using water pumps. They said that if they continued to irrigate the fields in this way, they would be ruined.

On the other hand, an agro-scientist at the CSA Dr KD Upadhyaya apprehended that if the present situation continued, t he corps would be damaged, and there would be scarcity of food grains. In- charge of the Metrological Department at the CSA Dr DC Keimthe monsoon had become weak