With no rain in last many days and no sign of rain in week starting from Monday as predicted by Ranchi Centre of India Meteorological Department (IMD), the South-West Monsoon is all set to depart from Jharkhand. IMD officials and experts believe that a after a long gap, the monsoon this year appeared in good and evenly gesture, which has left farmers cheerful and reservoirs and water bodies filled.
As per IMD, the State received a rainfall measuring plus minus 4 per cent to normal, which was extremely good for farming and water resource generation. During its peak days throughout the August, it did create some havoc in many parts of the state like any other year, as heavy to very heavy rain claimed more than two dozen lives by flood and lightening strike.
“But this year’s monsoon can be counted among the best ones in recent years, as we saw normal monsoon after at least four years. Second good thing is that we witnessed an evenly distributed rainfall,” said Agriculture Department Director Jatashankar Chowdhary on Sunday. IMD Ranchi Centre Director BK Mandal also echoed similar views, saying that the state saw fairly good and normal monsoon after long time, which benefits would be seen in next crop season as well.
“This is due to more or less well distributed rainfall throughout the State, that the expectation of bumper Kharif crop in this season has boosted manifold. Moreover, an extended rain in the first week of this month, a pleasant surprise, has also boosted expectation of good Rabi crop in many parts of state for those farmers who were successful to use it,” added Chowdhary.
Experts opined that delayed withdrawal of monsoon from state would reflect healthy outcome for the coming Rabi crop as it would leave good residual moisture in the soil for a bumper harvest. Chowdhary said that the farmers not only expected bumper paddy production, but a bumper pulses production was also not beyond expectation.
“We have seen pulses farming area increasing by about 1 lakh hectare to reach at 4.5 lakh hectare this year only because of good rain. We have also witnessed some 1.5 lakh hectare barren lands being turned into farm lands this year due to sufficient rain in most parts of the State,” said Chowdhary. Experts said that filled water reservoirs were also there to be used in coming crop season, which was a good sign for the State.