Odisha: Cloud on farmers’ hopes as monsoon pace slows down

BHUBANESWAR: The southwest monsoon has slowed down since its arrival in Odisha on Friday and has become weak, causing concern among farmers who have been been waiting for the rains to sow crops. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), however, has predicted heavy to moderate rainfall in a few districts in the next five days, but it will be sporadic.
The rain has also been playing hide and seek in the capital city as it is yet to receive major showers since the onset of monsoon in the state. “We have been waiting for the rain. There are dark clouds and cool breeze, but no rain, except a drizzle here and a sprinkle there,” said Shibani Rath, an IT professional. The city had recorded maximum temperature of 36.4 degrees Celsius and highest humidity of 83%, increasing the discomfort level.
The IMD has issued warning for heavy rainfall in five districts including Nuapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nayagarh and Mayurbhanj by Monday.
Though there has been rain in several parts of the state, it has not advanced much and is yet to cover many districts. “Since the Bay of Bengal branch of the southwest monsoon is not very active, its progress in the state has been slow,” said Uma Shankar Das, deputy director of IMD’s regional centre in Bhubaneswar.
Sources said the state received 14.1 mm rainfall during the first 14 days of June, which was over 80% less than the normal rainfall of 70.8 mm during this period. However, the deficit has been recovered by 23% with 46.9 mm rainfall recorded in the last five days.
With heavy rainfall predicted in several districts in the next five days, the deficit will be recovered faster. “A system needs to develop over the Bay of Bengal to get the monsoon active and progress in the state. It is expected that some system will form soon,” said Das. As the monsoon progresses from south to north, the rainfall should also be progress from southern districts to northern districts, he explained.
IMD sources said except for Dhenkanal and Nuapada, all other districts in the state have deficit rainfall with 15 districts having received more than 64% less. “We need one or two spells of heavy rain to start ploughing. But there is hardly any sign of heavy rain and ploughing has got delayed by almost a week. If it doesn’t rain heavily within a week, then the situation will be difficult for us this year,” said Ratnakar Panda, a farmer in Khurda district.