Udhagamandalam: With the South-West monsoon being active in many parts of the Nilgiris,there is cheer on both the farm and drinking water fronts.

However everything is not hunky dory, as the wet and nippy conditions ,have brought in their wake,considerable hardships too.This has put both the general public and the authorities in a spot .

With normal life in this hilly district, already being affected,for the past few months, due to the pandemic,the current chill and wet weather has further hit routine life.

Unable to go out on account of the Covid-19 related restrictions and the fear arising from the rapidly increasing number of infections,
the people are now also forced to stay indoors due to the weather.

Enquiries by this writer reveal that the situation has led to a rise in domestic tensions,particularly in large families with small houses. The plight of the daily wage earners is worse. Among them, the problems are especially pronounced. Farm labourers are forced to brave the steady drizzle and bitter chillness to earn their daily bread.

As regards the authorities,their position is equally unenviable. Already struggling to cope with sections of the society,which are not taking the Corona related norms like social distancing seriously,the district administration now has to look into infrastructure problems like damage caused by rain to the makeshift venue of the farmers market within the Gandhi maidhan.With hospitals filled with Covid patients, the administration has to make arrangements for treating people falling ill due to the weather.

Both medical professionals and the lay public find it difficult,at the initial stages,to distinguish between the Corona fever and the common fever.