Monsoon plays truant, drought looms large

Stackry

Editor

posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

39
views

BHUBANESWAR: With rainfall intensity on the wane, western and southern parts of Orissa are reeling from a prolonged dry spell whic..

BHUBANESWAR: With rainfall intensity on the wane, western and southern parts of Orissa are reeling from a prolonged dry spell which threatens to get out of control if the monsoon does not revive anytime soon.
As on Saturday, 16 districts recorded deficient rainfall. This being the period for transplantation of paddy, it is bad news for the farmers. With the reports of farmer suicides coming in, the absence of rain could mean more trouble for the State Government too. The Agriculture Department is already busy preparing a contingency plan for the farmers.

The situation, a senior official pointed out, is grave since absence of showers will seriously affect the crops.

"The dry spell may have serious repercussions on at least six or seven districts for which seeds are being readied if the situation remains unchanged.

Latest rainfall data available with the Revenue Department showed that more than half the districts had recorded a negative deviation in the range of 20 to 50 per cent during the period June 1July 30. In meteorological terms, it is deficient rainfall. Boudh had recorded 60 per cent deviation. Nuapada, Kalahandi, Deogarh, Bargarh and Angul were on the higher side of deficient rainfall while Koraput and Malkangiri showed similar trends.