Rising mercury boosts sales of earthen water pots in Agra

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 11 : As the popular Agra city in Uttar Pradesh witnesses a rise in temperature and scorching heatwaves, people are now heavily relying on 'Matkas' (Earthen Pots) to drink cold water.
"The effects of the rising temperature are being seen in Agra city. People are getting thirsty so they need pure and cold water. This can be found in 'Matkas'. So, they are buying them. In Agra, there is a variety of 'Matkas'. Plane ones, cap ones, 'colourful ones, etc. The variety includes those of Delhi, Kolkata, and Gujarat" said a seller while speaking to ANI on Sunday.
A customer, buying a 'Matka' also spoke about the need and significance of the same.
He said, "Cold water becomes necessary during summer. Refrigerator water can harm us. But there is no harm in consuming 'Matka' water. So, people are counting on 'Matkas'. Also, people are adoring different varieties of 'Matka'. The shopkeepers are also glad about the sales."
As several parts of the country are grappling with severe heatwave conditions, IMD Scientist Naresh Kumar issued an advisory on the current situation in the country.
IMD Scientist Naresh Kumar said, "Talking about the heatwave conditions in India, the main heat wave zone currently is East India. The heat wave conditions are prevailing in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. For this, the IMD had issued an orange alert in these regions. Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are also coming under the influence of heatwave. North coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be affected by heatwave for next 5 days. Andhra Pradesh can expect a severe heat wave for the next two days and temperature can rise 6.5 degree above the normal.
"Apart from this, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha will be affected by heat waves for the next 2 to 3 days. For Sunday the orange alert has been issued in Odisha and coastal Andhra Pradesh. In the other places the intensity is less so we have issued a yellow alert and also there is rainfall intensity in this region within 2 to 3 days so the other places can expect some relief," he said.
IMD scientist further added, "In the next 2 to 3 days Vidarbha also has a possibility of heatwave. If we talk about the North West, Rajasthan which is a major zone for heatwave, we are not expecting any intensity this time in this region. We are also expecting a heatwave for the next 2 to 3 days in southern Uttar Pradesh and NCR Delhi as well as the South Haryana region at some isolated places. At present there won't be much changes in temperature and only 1 to 2 degree rise in temperature is expected. As a precautionary step we have issued heat wave warning in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi NCR and Haryana for the next three days. After three days the temperature is expected to fall in this region. In the next 4 to 5 days temperature is expected to remain 40 plus."
Talking about the monsoon he said, there are cloud patches in some regions of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Bay of Bengal.
"In the next 48 hours we are expecting clouds to cover some more parts of the west coast. The major portion of monsoon is currently in the North East region which is witnessing continuous rainfall and we are expecting that in the coming 4 to 5 days this region can receive heavy to very heavy rainfall above 12 cms. Apart from this sub Himalayan, West Bengal and Sikkim and some parts of East Bihar can be touched in the next 48 hours."