Widespread Rain, Hailstorms Damage wheat crop in Punjab
Pakistan Times Punjab Bureau Report

LAHORE: Widespread hailstorm, thunderstorm and rain have damaged the standing wheat crop in several districts of Punjab and it’s feared wheat yield will come down by 10 to 15 per cent this season.

Heavy downpour coupled with a strong hailstorm in many parts of Sargodha, DG Khan and Bahawalpur divisions largely damaged the standing wheat, gram and other crops, apart from disrupting routine life.

Official circles are immediately not sure about the extent of damage but the farmers’ representatives feared 10 to 15 per cent reduction in the final production of wheat.

An official assessment report says, Sialkot, Attock, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Layyah, DG Khan, Toba Tek Singh, Vehari are among the rain and hailstorm-affected districts of the province. Five per cent of the total area under wheat crop in district Attock has been complete damaged, said an official.

While the crops on 3,500 acres in Sialkot also flattened owing to hailstorm. Wheat crop in Kot Chhatta in DG Khan is reported to have been extensively damaged by hailstorm.

The official said the wheat sown early proved to be more vulnerable to the gusty winds and hailstorm. This crop was affected in Vehari, Khanewal, Toba Tek Singh, Layyah, Bhakkar, Mianwali and DG Khan. The official said exact damage done to the crop could be known only after a survey of the affected areas.

Surplus Water for Kharif

Meanwhile, Indus River System Authority (Irsa) Chairman Aman Gul Khattak has said in Islamabad that for the first time since 1998, about 1.5 to 2.5 million acre feet (MAF) of water may be carried over for Kharif 2005 season.

"Sufficient water is available for all provinces for the Kharif season 2005 and desired amount of water is being released to all four provinces," Khattak told a meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatoi.

The Irsa chairman said that presently no province is facing shortage and it has been estimated that there would be no shortage of water for Kharif season.

The provinces are getting their due share of water, he added. Khattak said that conjunctive use of both the reservoirs is being carried out to avoid wastages and the Wapda is being facilitated to carry out work on Mangla raising project.

Storage Position

Providing storage position of three major reservoirs [Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma], the Irsa chief said the water storage on March 17 stood at 2.210 MAF.

Jatoi expressed pleasure over the current water situation, and directed the IRSA authorities to avoid wastage of water, as according to him it is a national asset.

He said a rationale distribution and supply of water would help meet demand of all provinces. He hoped the country would harvest good Kharif crops due to sufficient availability of water.●