Heavy rain and hailstorm threw normal life out of gear in neighbouring districts of Kanpur Dehat and Unnao and caused largescale devastation of crops on Sunday. City areas like Nawabganj along with Mandhana and Bithoor situated on the outskirts too witnessed heavy hailstorm accompanied by swift wind that uprooted several trees. The crops were severely damaged as fields were waterlogged.
The unseasonal rain has dashed the hopes of farmers, who were trying to recover from the damage of crops caused by rains on March 1 and 2. The rain has ruined farmers with small land holdings with hailstorm only aggravating the situation.
Most of the Unnao farmers are aghast. The loss of crops would also lead to vegetable and pulses price hike in coming days. The potato crop of Farrukhabad suffered the second major blow after March 1 rain.
The hailstorm resulted in a white carpet in several areas of Unnao and Kanpur. The fickle weather has disturbed the weather experts as it was bad for people's health and crops. The fluctuation in weather could lead to outbreak of various diseases. While the days were warm, nights were chilly with temperature hovering around 10 to 12 degrees Celsius.
After the hailstorm, children came out braving the rain to collect the hails. Several octogenarians claimed that they had not witnessed such a weather in March in their entire life. They said that these rains were unusual and they were still using blankets.
Weatherman said that chilly nights had prevented the day temperature from crossing 30 degree mark so far.
Meanwhile, the rain continued to lash the Industrial City and Unnao till late in the evening. Knee-deep water had accumulated at a number of places, including VIP Road that left several vehicle owners marooned.
Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
