Karnataka grip of massive power and water shortage. Bangalore daily 4hours power cut, cavery water once a week. Droughts ahead.
BANGALORE: With monsoon continuing to play hide-and-seek, the government is bracing itself for the worst - a truncated monsoon and power and water shortages.
"There is concern but no worry as yet. Last week, monsoon showed good signs of revival but this week will be crucial. If it doesn't rain, we may have a very serious situation,'' said agriculture minister S A Ravindranath.
The government has already proposed a slew of measures - from inviting tenders for cloud-seeding to expediting pending thermal power projects to counter what could develop into a power crisis worse than last year's. A lull in monsoon as such is not a cause for worry. If it revives in another 4-5 days, as expected by weather officials, and it rains well for at least one week, it should suffice. But a random survey revealed that the situation on the ground is grim.
However, the real cause of worry is that three major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin of Mysore region. Following good rain last week, there were substantial inflows here but that reduced drastically over the past two days due to deteriorating monsoon in Kodagu district.
"Shrinking reservoirs are also affecting hydroelectric power generation and release of water to drinking purpose and irrigated tracts," said Veerabhadraiah, a senior energy department official.
The monsoon pattern has not only been different but equally hard on farmers this year. "It rained a little in the beginning when we left for sowing. There was a long lull in July. But, when we thought everything is over, last week's rain revived our hopes," said a farmer in Old Mysore region.
Regional disparities in rainfall notwithstanding, officials said the weakening monsoon would also hurt agricultural production, as nearly 60% of the crop sown in the state depends on rain.
However, the Met office sounded a little optimistic. As per the current weather pattern, only isolated rain is possible in parts of the state. There is no possibility of heavy rainfall as the monsoon current has once again weakened. However, after two to three days, it may develop further, said a Met official.
Karnataka grip of massive power and water shortage. Bangalore daily 4hours power cut, cavery water once a week. Droughts ahead.
ReplyDeleteBANGALORE: With monsoon continuing to play hide-and-seek, the government is bracing itself for the worst - a truncated monsoon and power and water shortages.
"There is concern but no worry as yet. Last week, monsoon showed good signs of revival but this week will be crucial. If it doesn't rain, we may have a very serious situation,'' said agriculture minister S A Ravindranath.
The government has already proposed a slew of measures - from inviting tenders for cloud-seeding to expediting pending thermal power projects to counter what could develop into a power crisis worse than last year's. A lull in monsoon as such is not a cause for worry. If it revives in another 4-5 days, as expected by weather officials, and it rains well for at least one week, it should suffice. But a random survey revealed that the situation on the ground is grim.
However, the real cause of worry is that three major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin of Mysore region. Following good rain last week, there were substantial inflows here but that reduced drastically over the past two days due to deteriorating monsoon in Kodagu district.
"Shrinking reservoirs are also affecting hydroelectric power generation and release of water to drinking purpose and irrigated tracts," said Veerabhadraiah, a senior energy department official.
The monsoon pattern has not only been different but equally hard on farmers this year. "It rained a little in the beginning when we left for sowing. There was a long lull in July. But, when we thought everything is over, last week's rain revived our hopes," said a farmer in Old Mysore region.
Regional disparities in rainfall notwithstanding, officials said the weakening monsoon would also hurt agricultural production, as nearly 60% of the crop sown in the state depends on rain.
However, the Met office sounded a little optimistic. As per the current weather pattern, only isolated rain is possible in parts of the state. There is no possibility of heavy rainfall as the monsoon current has once again weakened. However, after two to three days, it may develop further, said a Met official.