Natural relief: Light rain in parts of Tharparkar

Locals say strong winds, hailstorm injured livestock.

HYDERABAD: Parts of the parched Islamkot tehsil in Tharparkar received low rainfall on Saturday night and Sunday, providing relief from surging temperatures. Agriculturists say the problem of livestock feed will be addressed to some extent through the scattered showers.

A resident of Morano village in Islamkot, Gul Muhammad Morano said that the rain came with strong winds and a brief hailstorm. According to Morano, the hailstorm injured dozens of livestock animals and peacocks. Some other unverified accounts also claimed deaths of livestock and peacocks.

Prof Ismail Kubhar, an agriculture teacher at Sindh Agriculture University who was in Tharparkar on Sunday told The Express Tribune that reports of rain came from over a dozen villages. The local meteorological office, based in Mithi tehsil, remained out of contact.

Kubhar said the low rainfall will not help in the cultivation of vegetables but small amount of pastures, shrubs and some mushrooms will grow. “The rain will also help decrease the temperature which was recorded at 40 degree Celsius. Locals will also get drinking water for a few days from the wells and other storage facilities.”

The Sindh government declared drought in Tharparkar on February 28, two and a half months after the district administration wrote to the government seeking the status.

More than 200 children and dozens of adults have died due to illness attributed to malnutrition since December last year. Thousands of livestock animals also perished over the same time.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2014.