Post Source: DAWN By Prem Shivani – Tuesday, 20 Oct, 2009
MITHI: Unfavourable weather conditions and insufficient rains have dashed hopes of Thari growers who had sown different crops during the first spell of monsoon rain, hoping in vain it will rain sufficiently for the crops to mature and give them good yields.
This correspondent saw during a visit to the arable areas of Mithi, Diplo, Nagarparkar and Chhachhro that crops of millet and guwar sown during the first spell of rains failed to attain full maturity, intensifying growers’ fears they would barely be able to recover expenses.
Chandro Bheel, a grower from Mithi taluka said: ‘I spent Rs30,000 on buying seed, hiring tractors and labour and about a month ago my crops seemed in promising condition. I was expecting to earn more than Rs50,000 from it.’
‘But the crops could not attain full maturity because of lack of rain and unfavourable weather conditions. I fear I would get barely half the produce,’ said Chandro Bheel.
Nobat Khoso, a landlord of Nagarparkar taluka, said that unfavourable weather has caused 30 to 40 per cent damage to crops.
Radho, a grain dealer of Chelhar, alleged that just a month ago he was expecting to get recover all his loans from growers of various villages but with large-scale damage to crops chances to get back the loan were very slim.
Kewal Ram Meghwar, a grower from Diplo taluka, pointed out that bad weather and lack of rain had damaged at least 40 per cent crops in entire Thar.
A revenue official who wished not to be named said that it would not be wrong to estimate that Thari growers had to bear at least 30 per cent loss to their crops this year.
