10 Haryana districts hit by dry spell

CHANDIGARH: Ten out of 19 districts in Haryana have experienced no rainfall so far this month, though in the month of June almost the entire state had rains.
The worst hit districts so far are Hisar, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, Fatehabad and Sonepat.
The average rainfall so far this month is just 6.8 mm, while in the corresponding period last year it was 116.3 mm.The average rainfall in the state for June this year has been 47.8 mm as against 48 mm in June last year.
Officials pointed out that the situation was not very gloomy at the moment, but if the monsoon failed to strike the state in the next 10 days, it might become alarming.
Of course, in some areas fields have started cracking and the roots are exposed.
Bajra so far is the worst hit crop as it is basically grown in the southern districts of the state, which are deficient both in rain and canal water.
Though the ground water level in the paddy-growing districts of Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and Karnal has gone down, these districts have sufficient canal water for irrigation purposes. The cost of production is likely to go up in case of a major monsoon failure.