Speaking exclusively to OTV on a drier August this year, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Chief Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, “There is deficit rainfall of over 70 percent in almost all districts of Odisha in August so far.”
Linking the cause to absence of low pressure systems in August, Mohapatra said Odisha usually witnesses 2-3 low pressure systems during this month. “But it has been 12 days in August and there are no signs of any rain, whatsoever, in the State,” he said.
As per the IMD Chief the deficit situation is likely to continue till August 15, except one or two places where scattered rainfall is likely to occur.
However, the active monsoon may bring rain to the State only after August 15. “Till then, there are no signs of any rainfall activity,” predicted Mohapatra who shot limelight for accurately predicting the landfall area of devastating cyclone Fani in 2018.
Sprinkling some hope in the minds of the farmers’ community, Mohapatra said that the monsoon induced low pressure in the second half of August has the potential to make up for a major part of the deficit.
“The cumulative rainfall prediction (June 1 – Sep 30) made by the IMD stated that there are chances of deficit rainfall in the districts of Northern Odisha while the remaining parts of the State are likely to witness normal rain. The prediction held true till July 31. However, with the advent of August, the rainfall gradually subsided, recording an overall 70 percent deficit in the State,” said Mohapatra.
He said though there are chances of rains in the second half of August and in the month of September, “But we cannot say much about it now.”
Under its impact, rains and thundershowers are likely to occur at the coastal parts of the State in the next 24 hours while other places in Northern region and interior areas of the State will receive heavy rainfall on July 9 and 10, the Met predicted.
“Heavy rainfall is likely to occur at places over the coastal region during the next 24 hours while most places over north and interior Odisha will receive heavy to heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours,” the MeT office here said.
According to reports, on July 6, the average rainfall recorded in the State was 1.3 mm. The highest rainfall of 12.88 mm was recorded in Malkangiri followed by 12.33 mm in Balasore.
Reports further claimed that the State has witnessed 30 percent deficit rainfall in the month of June this year as compared to the 2 percent deficit rain registered in June 2017.
“An improvement in the drought situation was seen after recent rainfall. While 103 blocks had deficit rainfall earlier, the number has now fallen to 96,” said Mohanty.
The Minister further said that the final report on the drought situation has still not been submitted by the district collectors. Discussions on the drought situation will be held in the review meeting on October 10 after receiving the reports, he added.
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As many as 10 districts of the state have received deficit rainfall between 19 per cent and 39 per cent during the period, said the Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office.
The districts include Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Bargarh, Subarnapur, Nuapada, Jajpur, Bolangir, Boudh, Angul and Dhenkanal with Boudh receiving the lowest rainfall of 192 mm during the month of August, sources said.
Generally, the farmers sow seeds in June after monsoon showers and both transplantation and intercultural operations are undertaken in July. However, with deficit rainfall, farm lands had gone dry in these districts leading to drought-like conditions.
According to latest reports of the Met Department, the state is likely to experience rainfall before September 15 as a result of low pressure.
“Even if it rains in off season, it is difficult to do farming. The cows are grazing in the field. We don’t know what to do,” said a farmer.
Gajapati and Ganjam districts received surplus rainfall of more than 19 per cent during the period from June 1 to August 31, sources said.
18 districts which received normal rainfall are Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Khurda, Koraput, Puri, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Jagatsinghpur, Sundargarh, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Nayagarh, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Bhadrak during this period.
The body of the deceased, identified as Aswin Sahoo, was found hanging in the backyard of his house.
According to sources, Aswin had planted four acres of paddy crop by taking a loan. He took the extreme step after the crops were damaged, said his family members.
"He had taken loan of Rs 2 lakh from various sources for agriculture purpose but as the crops were damaged due to deficit rain he committed suicide," said brother of Aswin, Prakash Sahoo.
In a similar incident, another farmer at Khandiabandh village in the district also attempted suicide today. The farmer, identified as Artabandu Rout, had planted eight acres of paddy crop by taking a loan.
He consumed poision at his farm land after the paddy was damaged, alleged family members. Artabandhu is presently undergoing treatment at Dhenkanal hospital.
As many as six districts - Nuapada, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Dhenkanal, Angul and Bargarh - had received 30% and 54% deficit rainfall during the month, an official of the Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said.
Among the affected districts, Nuapada received the lowest rainfall with a deficit of 54%, while Kandhamal district registered a deficit rainfall of 39%, Bolangir 38%, Dhenkanal 33%, Angul 32% and Bargarh 30% deficit rainfall during July, sources added.
Earlier, the Met department had predicted sufficient rainfall in the season. However, the amount of rainfall halved during June, leading to serious drought-like conditions.
“Generally, we sow seeds in June after monsoon showers and both transplantation and intercultural operations are undertaken in July. With insufficient rainfall last month, our farm lands have gone dry,” said a distressed farmer.
The cumulative average rainfall in Odisha from June to September, 2017 remained 1,028.3 mm against the LTA (long term average) of 1,144.3 mm which accounts for a deficit of 10.1 per cent, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said.
"Of the 30 districts of Odisha, only Gajapati district received surplus rainfall more than 19 per cent during the period," Sethi said.
The twenty districts, which received normal rainfall (+19 per cent to -19 per cent) during this period, are: Rayagada, Kalahandi, Ganjam, Nabarangpur, Khurda, Malkangiri, Jharsuguda, Cuttack, Deogarh, Koraput, Puri, Sundargarh, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Kendrapara, Sambalpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Kandhamal and Nuapada.
However, Sethi said that the rainfall in nine districts -- Subarnapur, Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Bargarh, Boudh, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Bolangir and Angul -- remained deficit between 19 per cent and 39 per cent.
Going by the block-wise rainfall data, 45 blocks have received surplus rainfall (19 per cent), 155 blocks normal rainfall, 87 blocks deficit rainfall, 25 blocks severe deficit rainfall (-39 percent to -59 per cent) and two blocks experienced scanty rainfall (-59 per cent) during the four months of June, July, August and September cumulatively, he said.
"Two blocks which have experienced scanty rainfall are Odapada in Dhenkanal district (-62.2 per cent) and Hatadihi in Keonjhar district (-60.2 per cent) during the four months," the SRC said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked the district collectors to submit report of deficit rainfall and crop loss due to scanty downpour by October 15.
Bargarh, which is also known as the 'Rice bowl of Odisha,' along with areas of Sambalpur, Nuapada and Sundergarh have been badly affected by deficit rainfall this monsoon season.
It is to be noted that this is the third consecutive year that western Odisha is facing a drought situation.
In the beginning of the monsoon this year, farmers were quite optimistic after good spells of rain, however as the paddy crops began to ripen, rain subsided.
The situation is quite severe in Sohela and Bijepur block of Bargarh, sources said.
Farmer outfits have urged the government to take necessary steps to provide water pumps and pipe connection to sustain cultivation.
In Nuapada district, after three consecutive seasons of drought-like condition, farmers had hoped that this year would be a silver lining. On the contrary rainfall was not as expected.
The condition is no less grim in Sambalpur district where hundreds of farmers and other locals led by BJP MLA Rabi Naik stormed to the streets demanding drought-hit status for Kuchinda sub-division.
Cultivators have warned that if the government does not take any proactive steps to mitigate the condition and provide adequate compensation, they would intensify their agitation.
"If the government does not ensure quick disbursement of crop insurance and compensation, we will launch protests," farmer leader, Vimal Joshi said.
Meanwhile, the administration has assured to assist the farmers in tackling the situation.
"We have already begun arrangements to provide diesel pump sets at subsidised prices. This apart, we are also providing water connection from canals and other water sources to affected farmlands at subsidised rates," said deputy director of Agriculture department in Bargarh, Dinabandhu Gandhi.
Bhubaneswar Regional Meteorological Centre informed that the State has received 277 mm of rainfall against the normal rainfall average of 336 mm.However, as it's less than a month since the monsoon onset, the situation is likely to improve and Odisha will witness increase in rainfall activity after July 18.
Duty officer, Laxmidhar Mohapatra informed that Gajapati district received a deficit rainfall of (-) 58 %, Balasore (- 45%), Rayagada, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Keonjhar districts (-33 %).
“So far Odisha has received a deficit rainfall of 17 % and we hope the situation will improve in coming days as there are chances of increase in rainfall activity after July 18,” said Mohapatra.
Mohapatra further informed that several parts in Odisha especially south coastal districts will experience thundershowers for the next 3 to 4 days, though no heavy rainfall warning has been issued.
Meteorologist Sudarshan Mishra informed that the cyclonic circulation lies over northwest Bay of Bengal & adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal and south Odisha coast. Under its impact, several parts of the State will experience an increase in rainfall activity from today. Gopalpur received a highest rainfall of 93 mm in the past 24 hours.
“Even though the monsoon is normal, Odisha received a deficit rainfall of 26 percent so far. The State has received 300 mm of rainfall against 405 mm which is considered as normal,” said Mishra.
As per the Meteorological department, the State received less than the normal rainfall this monsoon. The weathermen informed that Odisha has received 31 per cent deficit rainfall till today as such water level in major dams and reservoirs has dipped significantly.
To cope up with this, people were seen praying for rain as the deficit rainfall has massively affected farming in several parts of the State.
Hundreds of farmers of five villages in Jatgarh gram panchayat under Komna Tehsil of Nuapada district conducted yajnas with a hope that the Almighty will answer their prayers for rain.
“We finished the paddy sowing activities in the month of June. Now they are ready for plantation. However, we are unable to plant them as there is no water in our paddy fields. So we decided to conduct special prayers,” said Premananda Gadia, a farmer.
“Peasants from different villagers including Beherapada, Suripada and Jatgarh are taking part in the prayer ceremony. We are hopeful that Lord Indra would answer our prayers. We also request the state government to take some steps in this regard,” said Siba Majhi, Jatgarh village head.
Speaking about the special prayer ceremony, Saroj Kumar Tripathy, a priest said, “There is no rainfall even though we are in the ‘Shravan Masa’ after Ashadha Masa. Therefore, the farmers are praying for rain. We believe that there will be rainfall soon and the farmers can begin the cultivation work.”
Meanwhile, the State government has directed Hirakud and other dam authorities to decrease hydro-power generation in view of the deficient rainfall.
Not only Odisha, several parts of India too witnessed deficit rainfall during this monsoon season. The Indian Met department informed that the country witnessed 19% deficit monsoon rainfall. While 15 places recorded normal rainfall, 21 places across the country recorded deficient rainfall. Saurashtra is said to have witnessed 58 per cent less rainfall than the normal rainfall. In contrary, Lakshadweep recorded 17 per cent more rainfall than the average.
A letter issued by the Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said that as many as 17 districts- Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak, Bolangir, Boudh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Nuapada and Sambalpur- recorded less than average rainfall during the month of July.
However, Bargarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Khurda, Nabarangpur, Malkanagiri, Puri, Rayagada and Sonepur (11 districts) received normal precipitation in July. While June had 7.4 rainy days against the normal average of 9.9 days, July recorded 13.7 rainy days, the letter read.
In view of the scanty rainfall, the government has released water in canals for meeting the irrigation requirements. Earlier, the state Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marandi had informed that the government will take action as per the provisions of the crop contingency plan taking into account the amount of rainfall received by the State in the coming days.
Several hectares of farmland which usually see knee-deep water during this time of the season are now lying dry due to insufficient rainfall. At many places though sowing of crops has been done with lift irrigation facilities, farmers are wary of uncertainty.
The situation is precarious especially in Balasore district where sowing of Kharif crops is done on 1, 97,871 hectares of land. However, the agricultural activities have been badly hampered due to deficit rainfall this year. Farmers fear that if the crops do not get adequate rainfall, they will suffer huge loss.
“Farmers in some places are sowing crops where there is rain, but most of the places are lying dry. If we cannot sow crops, how will we survive. The shutdown has increased our suffering,” said Padmolochan Pradhan, a farmer.
Prasanna Kumar Mohapatra, deputy director of agriculture department said, “Though there is delay, we can expect good crops if the rainfall improves in coming days. I appeal to farmers not to get panic.”
Meanwhile, the low germination of seeds has also compounded the misery of farmers in Soro and Bahanaga block in the district. The farmers alleged that the seeds they purchased from the government stores are not germinating properly.
Prasanna Kumar Das, another farmer, said, “I had purchased two packets of seeds from government and grown paddy on four actress of land. Though I followed the instructions of the government, the seeds did not germinate properly.”
When contacted, Soro agriculture officer Dhirendra Nath Mallick said he did not receive any such complaint.
“None of the farmers have visited our office and filed written complaint regarding germination problem of seeds. Our field-level staff are visiting in the ground and organising meetings every Monday to address the grievances of the farmers.”
As per Regional Meteorological department data, as many as six coastal districts of the State have experienced deficient rainfall between 20 and 59 percent. Puri is the worst-hit district with (-43%) deficit in rainfall followed by Khurda with (-35%).
Similarly, Balasore has recorded 310.6 mm rainfall as on July 17 which is 24% less than the long term average. Cuttack too has witnessed a shortage of 34% deficit rainfall. Odisha has overall recorded 396.7 mm of rainfall which is just 1% more than the long term average normal.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
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Jharsuguda district witnessed a 25.5 per cent surplus rainfall during the period while 18 districts – Nuapada, Gajapati, Boudh, Ganjam, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Koraput, Khurda, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Bolangir, Angul, Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Bargarh and Mayurbhanj received normal rainfall.
On the other hand, the districts of Khurda, Cuttack, Balasore, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur got less than normal precipitation. Owing to severe deficit rainfall of 65.8% and 50.7% respectively in July, Puri and Kendrapara's situation looks worse.
In addition to this, Mayurbhanj (-39.8%), Sundergarh (-54.6%), Keonjhar (-41.8%)and Deogarh (-47.8%) witnessed severe deficit rainfall this month (till July 22). Consequently, Odisha is stated to have received 12.5% deficit rainfall during the monsoon period.
In contrast, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has positioned 85 teams at 74 locations in 20 vulnerable States to meet any eventuality in view of the worsening flood situation.
As per official reports, 12 teams have been deployed in Assam and 19 in Bihar to deal with the flood situation. There are seven teams in Maharashtra, nine in Gujarat, four teams in Karnataka, six teams each in UP and West Bengal. One team each has been deputed in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tripura. Two teams each have been deputed in Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir, and three teams each in Kerala, Punjab and Uttarakhand.
This apart, 37 teams are stationed at 26 locations in 23 States at the Regional Response Centres (RRCs) of the NDRF located in the vulnerable areas for a prompt response to any disasters. The NDRF's 122 self-contained teams, comprising trained responders like doctors, divers, paramedics and engineers, equipped with adequate boats and other flood rescue equipment are on alert.
Additional teams have also been kept on alert at the NDRF battalions in Guwahati (Assam), Kolkata (West Bengal), Mundali (Odisha), Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu), Pune(Maharashtra), Vadodara (Gujarat), Bhatinda (Punjab), Ghaziabad and Varanasi (UP), Patna (Bihar), Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) and Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), reported IANS.
"The Force is in constant touch with the state governments to chalk out combat strategies," an NDRF statement said, adding that the NDRF control room at New Delhi is monitoring the situation and is in touch with other agencies.
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