Farmers in the Henwal valley and Chamba-Mussoorie fruit belt are anxiously waiting for the winter rains.
In the absence of winter rains, the sowing of various crops is being delayed. Delay in the winter rain is causing a delay in the sowing of wheat, masoor (red lentil), barley and peas in the mountainous regions here.
Under such circumstances, those linked to the agriculture sector state that farmers could face a tough time in case of protracted absence of rains in the winter.
It is pertinent to mention here that farmers of the Henwal valley and Chamba-Mussoorie fruit belt in Tehri district are suffering from anxiety as there has been no rain in this region even after passing of a week in December. Due to this delay in the winter rain, the sowing of various crops in this region is getting delayed.
It should be mentioned here that the period for sowing various crops including wheat, masoor, barley and peas among others is presently in its final stage.
According to sources, this region has received only about 5.3 millimetres rain in the month of November while only about two millimeters rain has been received so far in the current month.
Villagers Vijay Jadadhari and Uttam Singh Jadadhari said that farmers in various areas are not being able to sow crops in the absence of rain. Talking to The Pioneer, the Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri campus technical officer Prakash Negi said that the absence of an active western depression is responsible for there being no rain in the region so far.
However, according to the weather forecast, this region could experience cloudy skies in the coming days with a probability of light rain.
Considering the present status of the weather, farmers can still plant the late-sown variety of wheat.
It should be noted here that agriculture in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand is mostly dependent on the rains in absence of irrigation.