Even as Chief Minister Raman Singh announced a slew of measures to tackle drought-like conditions in Chhattisgarh’s as many as 20 districts just a day ago, the farmers and people from various districts had started thanking the Rain God for doing the ‘unexpected’.
The heavy rainfall since September 15 evening has brought a sigh of relief to anxious farmers and residents.
Meteorological Scientists predict the situation to maintain its ‘rainy’ status quo till the morning of September 18 while raising the possibility of drought-like conditions lessening considerably in several parts of the State.
“The sudden downpour will benefit the standing crops of pulses and rice. Interestingly, according to Hindu Mythology the State is blessed with Bhadra season (the end of monsoon) twice this year,” said Dr GK Das, Head of Agrometeorology Department, Indira Gandhi Agricultural University (IGAU), Raipur.
The 20 to 40 percent rain shortfall in districts including Korba, Surguja, Rajnandgaon and Jagdalpur, has certainly improved. There is a substantial increase in the water levels of dams and rivulets. Satellite images show the coverage of clouds over the State till Friday, he said.
Meanwhile, the data of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Raipur Division predicts a marginal increase in the temperature of the State from Friday. The minimum temperature and maximum temperature will be around 24 to 28 degrees on September 17 respectively. It is expected to rise between 25 to 30 degrees on September 18, it stated.
Stating the reason behind the positive change, Ml Sahu, IMD Director, Raipur Division said it is due to the low pressure occurring in the South-Odisha area which would soon move towards Madhya Pradesh. “The heavy rainfall has undoubtedly proved to be a blessing for the farmers. Bastar and Raipur regions have recorded the maximum rainfall,” he pointed out.
Notably, sources maintained Bastar had comparatively received around 1100 mm rainfall, the maximum across the State in present scenario.
Districts such as Raigarh and Mahasamund have recorded normal rains. While, Korba, Surguja, Rajnandgaon and Jagdalpur were under the threat of rain-deficiency witnessing merely 500 to 900 millimetre rainfall, Das said
Sahu informed that a notification about the heavy rainfall during the next 24 hours has been issued to all the concerned authorities.
“The constant rainfall is predicted to stop by Friday,” said the IMD Director.
The IMD seemed to have adopted a ‘wait and watch’ approach for Chhattisgarh since the month of August.
As per the IMD report, Chhattisgarh did not find mention among ‘rain deficient’ states in August this year.
The IMD had reported in August that there has been deficit in rainfall for states of Meghalaya(-33%), Nagaland(-58%), Manipur(-20%), Mizoram (-30%) , Bihar(-31%), Uttar Pradesh(-32%), Haryana(-24%), Punjab(-26%), Goa(-22%), Maharashtra(-26%), Telangana(-22%), AP(-24%), Karnataka (-23%), and Kerala(-30%). Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on August 11 had directed the officials to allow farmers to extract water from rivers and rivulets for the Kharif season crops through irrigation pumps in the districts where ever the rainfall is found deficient.
Singh had also issued the directives in a video conference with district collectors. The districts of Rajnandgaon, Koriya, Kanker, Balod and Gariaband have received less than average rain this season. In five districts with scanty rainfall, power supply to irrigation pumps should be ensured, the Chief Minister had stated. Notably, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture for initiating a series of farmer friendly interventions in the wake of deficient rainfall as per IMD forecast of below average monsoon.