Rains bring relief from heat in Surat

The unpredicted rains brought much-needed respite from scorching heat in several parts of South Gujarat and Surat on Monday.  It was almost after three weeks, that people were forced to pull-out their packed away umbrellas and rain coats. The cloudy sky brought down the temperature to a great extent, making the atmosphere pleasant.

It started raining early in the morning and continued till 11 am. The rains continued for six hours, with the city recording 10 mm of rain during the day. No water-logging or casualty was recorded in the city. Although it stopped raining in the afternoon, the cloudy sky prevented the mercury level from rising. Day temperature came down by seven degrees on Monday. The temperature on Monday was 26 degrees as against 32 degrees registered on Sunday.

Although the city got respite from the blistering heat, the garba organisers were not very happy with the water logging at the garba venue. The organisers tried to restore the situation, by putting sand at the venue, but it failed to provide any result. All nine talukas' of Surat and various other districts in South Gujarat also received showers on Monday.

The low pressure system developed at Bay of Bengal resulted in the atmospheric change, said the district met officials. The department predicted similar condition in the region for the next 24 hours. However, the rains proved unlucky for the farmers cultivating Jowar. 

The unseasonal rains turned Jowar - ready to cut down, into black, making it unfit for sale, said the farmers. On the contrary, farmers cultivating cotton, green chillies, sugarcane and palm seeds anxiously waited for rains.