Chandigarh, April 17
Inclement weather, accompanied by strong winds, has been playing spoilsport with the wheat crop in the region in the past 48 hours.

The wet weather has forced farmers to suspend their harvesting operations. Today, the arrival of wheat was minimal in grain markets from where reports of rain have been received.

The procurement of wheat has also been hit in certain grain markets because of bad weather.

Today was the second consecutive day that rain lashed the wheat crop in Punjab and Haryana.

There are also reports of hailstorm from certain parts of the Gurdaspur belt. This morning, rain water entered some grain markets and damaged the wheat unloaded by farmers there.

Confirming that the rain was widespread, a senior official of the Punjab Government said, “We are keeping our fingers crossed as far as the damage to the wheat crop is concerned. It will take some time to assess the damage.”

Dr SS Gosal, Director of Research, PAU, Ludhiana, said that rain at this stage was bad news for farmers in the region. He said it would not only further delay the harvest but also lead to excessive moisture in the harvested wheat grain, thus leading to its discolouration in the next few weeks. The grain would also lose its lustre.

Mangal Singh Sandhu, Director, Agriculture, Punjab, said that reports of rainfall had come from 16 districts yesterday. The maximum rainfall — 14 mm — was recorded in Faridkot and it was minimal in the Mansa and Bathinda belt.

Rainfall has also been reported today from various parts of the state, he added.

Reports of rain have also come from the Sirsa, Hisar, Ambala and Hansi regions of Haryana.