DADU, Aug 25: Heavy rain on Thursday damaged paddy, onion, chillies and cotton standing on hundreds of acres. The early morning rain continued for an hour.

Scores of families came to river embankment at Dadu-Moro Bridge to enjoy the weather.One foot water damaged the standing crops of onion and chillies in Dadu taluka. Cotton was also affected in union councils Bhan Syedabad, Dal, Bubak, Talti of Sehwan taluka.

Rain also damaged Irri-6 and Basmati in Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah areas.

A paddy farmer from Mehar, Kazi Shafique Ahmed Mahessar said rain caused loss to paddy crop like that of last year. Small growers faced hardship because of the damaged irrigation system and lack of drainage system at their land. He said further rain would destroy the entire paddy crop.

Leader of Abadgar Association Dadu, Haji Mohammad Omer Jamali said Johi taluka is facing acute water shortage while the rain has damaged paddy crop in low lying areas.

A farmer, Ghulam Haider Shaikh, who had cultivated onion seedlings on 12 acres lost his entire cultivation. Onion and chillies crops standing on hundreds of acres would be damaged if rain continued in this area, he said. Cotton grower Yousuf Jamali of taluka Sehwan said farmers were trying to drain out rainwater from their lands.

The heavy rain in Khirtar range mountains had resulted in flowing of 10 feet water. It created miseries for flood-hit people whose houses were destructed in last year’s flood in Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah and Johi.

Light rain also hit parts of Khairpur and Ranipur in the morning on Thursday.