The monsoon is back with a bang, bringing down the rain deficit to just 23% and reviving hopes that the summer crop of paddy, corn and sugarcane can be salvaged.
Agriculture secretary T Nanda Kumar said, in the last two weeks most parts of India received rainfall, “easing the moisture-stress on planted crops”. The government had declared 278 out of the country’s 626 districts drought-hit. The production of main summer crops — lentils, paddy and sugarcane and oil seeds — had declined by over 20% because of the drought-like situation.
Due to poor rainfall, over 25 of the total 85 reservoirs had below normal water. This may spell trouble for winter crops. But rainfall in August has gone a long way in easing out the situation with the metereological department officially confirming that the monsoon deficit has decreased from 54% in June to 23%.
The meteorological department said north west, west and central India will receive rains throughout the week. Planning commission officials said the true impact of the drought will be visible only after six months. “A lot depends on whether the Rabi season takes off. As of now, the rain is a good sign,” said an official.
