Maharashtra farmers foresee a ray of hope. Amid the drought like conditions, government plans to experiment with artificial rainfall in the state. Cloud Seeding may be a strategy adopted by the state government to bring relief to thousands of farmers.
Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse said, “Many a time during the dry spell, crops require only one rain to survive. If they don’t get it, we have to lose crops worth crores of rupees.’’
As 80 per cent of the state’s cultivable land depends on rainfall, the government plans to undertake cloud seeding between the months of June and August this year, for the cultivation of the kharif crops. The focus will be on the western parts of Maharashtra instead of Marathwada, as the latter receives 60 mm rain on an average.
Cloud seeding is a process carried out by spreading either silver iodide aerosols or dry ice on the top of the clouds to initiate rainfall. It is done to stimulate precipitation. It is only successful when moisture laden clouds are available in abundance.
The government had carried out such an experiment in 2002, but it was not successful. This time, a private agency, KCMC has been shortlisted for carrying out the process. The government has allocated INR 27 crore for the project. A radar control station will be based at Aurangabad and the areas within a radius of 250 kilometers are estimatedtobe covered under the rainfall experiment. Mr Khadse also said, “Cloud seeding in catchment belts will augment fresh water supply. Precipitation in these parts will also help the water flow naturally to some water-stressed belts.”
The government’s experiment with artificial rainfall can be seen as a probable saviour for the farmers and their crops in the severely drought hit regions of Maharashtra.
News Source: Skymet Weather | Economic Times
Image Source: Patrika Group
