Ahmedabad

Unseasonal rains lashed parts of Gujarat today, causing severe damage to standing crops like wheat, groundnut, cotton and onion, particularly in the Saurashtra region of the state.

The Meteorological Centre in Ahmedabad said, upper-air cyclonic circulation over South Pakistan and adjoining Kutch area has caused rainfall over Gujarat.

“Moderate to heavy rainfall was reported in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Kheda and Vadodara districts of central Gujarat,” the official release said.

Amreli, Bhavnagar, Devboomi- Dwarka, Okha, Porbandar, Rajkot, Veraval and Gir Somnath districts of the state have also witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall. There was a light rainfall in Kutch region today, it said.

The Meteorological Centre has also predicted rains at isolated places in Gujarat in next three days.

The sudden showers have brought the mercury levels down and the state has witnessed chilly winds.

Farmers in the state have suffered huge losses due to the unseasonal downpour.

“There was a ready stock of pulses, groundnut and cotton put in various marketing-yards of Saurashtra. As far as Savarkundla Marketing Yard is concerned, it bears the loss of around Rs 25 lakh,” former chairman of Savarkundla Marketing yard in Amreli district Mahesh Sudada said today.

“Farmers had started shifting their wheat crops in marketing yard since last two weeks, but the untimely rainfall has damaged the ready crop and cost a loss of around Rs 1.50 crore in Kodinar marketing yard,” Chairman of Kodinar Marketing yard in Gir Somanath district Subhash Dodiya said.

Dodiya added that the Gujarat government and the Centre should immediately come forward to buy the crops at minimum support price (MSP).

“The unseasonal rainfall is also likely to affect the mango crop in Saurashtra region,” he said.

A farmer from Bhavnagar district, Mangalbhai Koli, said the untimely rains damaged the onion crops in Mahuva taluka of the district.

“Around 80 bales of onions, comprising 20 kg in each bale, got drenched in the rains, which caused a loss of lakhs of rupees. In such a situation, if the government does not help us, farmers will not able to survive,” he said.

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