Farmers Movement Archive

Thundershowers, hailstorm lash west UP dists, dropping mercury by a few notches

Muzaffarnagar/Bareilly/Agra: Thundershowers and hailstorm lashed several districts of western Uttar Pradesh in early hours of Saturday bringing mercury a few notches down and making people shiver. A thick sheet of hails enveloped parts of Muzaffarnagar and an earthmover had to be called in to clear the roads. Farmers in both Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar districts, however, feared the loss of crops. Sisauli, the native village of several Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders in Muzaffarnagar district, saw hailstorm damaging crops and covering several streets with thick white sheets of hails. “Hail damaged sugarcane and mustard crops. We had to call an earthmover to remove hails from the roads,” said Sachin Kumar, a village resident. Meanwhile, demanding compensation, BKU national president Naresh Tikait said, “Mustard crop was damaged badly, and thus, the administration should provide compensation to the farmers.” District additional magistrate (finance) Alok Kumar, meanwhile, said, “We have instructed tehsildar to survey the damaged crops for awarding compensation.” Pan Singh Tomar, an assistant scientist with the meteorological department in Muzaffarnagar, said the thundershowers and hailstorm brought the temperature down by a few degrees. The temperature dipped in Moradabad district after heavy rains and hailstorm at several places on Saturday. The minimum was recorded at 11 degrees Celsius and the maximum at 23 degrees as against 29 degrees Celsius on Friday. Meanwhile, the fog hung over Agra region early Saturday morning, but cold winds blowing at a speed of 10 km per hour dispersed it as the day progressed. However, the chill remained the whole day. The city recorded a maximum of 24 degrees Celsius while the minimum dropped to 14 degrees. Chilly winds swept through neighbouring districts of Firozabad, Mathura, Etah, Aligarh and Mainpuri. Aligarh recorded a minimum temperature of 13 degrees Celsius while the maximum remained at 22 degrees. According to the metrological department, Agra region is likely to witness moderate fog in the morning and evening for the next five days, while mercury — both minimum and maximum — is likely to dip by two degrees. Dense fog is likely on December 15 and 16. (With inputs from Deepak Lavania in Agra and Kanwardeep Singh in Bareilly)

The Times of India

2020-12-13

Meerut