Finally, the rain gods have shown mercy on the ‘Queen of Hills’ as pre-monsoon (southwest) showers lashed the hill town and its surrounding areas here on Thursday.
Locals say the wet spell was an indication to the onset of monsoon in a week. Last year, there was a delayed onset of monsoon, that is by the second week of June.
This year, the pre-monsoon showers have raised hope among the community in the hill district that the monsoon would begin soon and remain active till August end or mid-September.
Meanwhile, lashed Tiruchy, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and its suburbs experienced heavy to moderate showers on Thursday evening, which brought down the the mercury level. Papanasam, Tiruvaiyaru, Tirukkattupalli, and Budalur also experienced wet spell. Rain was also reported from Tiruthuraipoondi area of Tiruvarur district.
The rains would be useful for summer ploughing, agricultural department officials said. A senior official appealed to the farmers to go in for ploughing the whole field, instead of just the area where nurseries are supposed to be raised.