Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken steps to relieve the farmers of the state from the problems caused by scanty rainfall in some districts of the state.
The chief minister said in a high-level meeting on Saturday that no farmer would be allowed to suffer loss due to scanty rainfall. Also, he asked the officials to increase the number of rain gauges at the development block level.
It is worth mentioning that the rain gauge is an instrument to measure rainfall, from which more or less rainfall is measured accurately. The information of the data prepared on the basis of this assessment can be of great use to the farmers as they can be vigilant about the crop sowing and minimise the possible losses.
According to an official communiqué released on Sunday, till now rain gauge systems were installed at the tehsil level and now by increasing them at the development block level, more and more farmers will be able to get accurate information about the rainfall till the block and gram panchayats.
According to UP Meteorological Department Director JP Gupta, both automatic and manual rain gauges are being operated in the state.
With the help of a rain gauge, we can know how many millimetres of rain has fallen at a certain place. The data of how much rain has fallen in a particular month every year can be useful to the farmers. Keeping this in mind, the farmers can sow the crop.
Gupta said that an estimated 300 to 400 rain gauges were operating in the state. “To install yantras in each block, we have to see which blocks have yantras and where they are still to be installed,” he said.
The UP Meteorological Department issues weather bulletins at district level daily, weekly and at session level through different nodal officers. At the same time, the weather forecast is issued by the department at the block level also. However, if the rain gauges are increased at the block level, accurate estimation of rainfall at a certain place can be done. This will benefit the local farmers and they will be able to ensure the safe sowing of the crop as per the season.
In a high-level meeting on Saturday, the chief minister had said that rainfall measurement is a very important process. Our farmer-friendly policies depend on its assessment. At present, rain gauges have been installed at tehsil levels, action should be taken to increase them at the development block level. More and more accurate information of rainfall can be obtained with more and more rain gauges. The accurate weather forecast alerts secure the wider interest of public life.
He said instruments should be installed at the commissionerate level for more accurate estimates and corresponding weather alerts. He also stressed on the need to develop a portal at the state level to provide accurate weather information to the farmers.