No Cheer For Odisha As IMD Releases Monsoon Forecast

No cheer for Odisha this monsoon season. As per the forecast of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Odisha along with Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Assam are likely to receive below-normal rainfall during the Southwest monsoon. For Odisha, the cumulative forecast for the period of June – September predicts below normal rainfall in western, northern, central and southern districts. While releasing the first Long Range Forecast for the four-month rainfall period from June to September, the Ministry of Earth Sciences informed that rainfall will be normal or above normal in the rest of the country. The Long Period Average (LPA) will be 98 per cent with an error margin of plus and minus 5 per cent, said M Rajeevan, secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The Southwest monsoon, which brings about 75% rainfall in the country, plays a pivotal role in driving the country’s economy, in which agriculture and its allied activities are the key pillars.