Ooty receives summer rain; farmers and tourists enthused

UDHAGAMANDALAM: Summer rain drenched the Nilgiris on Friday, lowering the temperature in Ooty and surrounding areas. The prevailing maximum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius in the past few days came down to 20 degrees Celsius on Friday. Coonoor and Kotagiri also received good showers.

The sudden rain is a blessing to farmers. Also, it would lead to a good bloom of flowers in gardens in Ooty in the coming tourist season.

“After a fairly good period of sunshine, the sudden showers now favour the plants for a healthy blooming”, said an official in the horticulture department.

“Normally, we used to get a few showers in February and March. But February witnessed a dry spell. Now, these showers are helpful for the standing vegetable crops”, said Loganathan, a farmer.

Crops such as carrots, cabbage and beetroot would be harvested in a month.

The showers enthused tea growers in the district. “We have been waiting for a few showers to manure our tea gardens. These sudden showers would facilitate us in applying fertilizers. We expect a few more showers in the coming weeks so that the yield will also be considerably more”, said Kallan, a small tea grower.

“Experiencing showers in places like Ooty is enjoyable. The day after the showers it is good to walk around the hills”, said M Shanmugam, a tourist.