BENGALURU: While the grim spectre of drought in 120 taluks is staring at the state, cloud seeding expert Capt Arvind Sharma said that cloud seeding can be one solution that can still be considered despite the advanced stage of monsoon.
It is late in the day to start, but there is still hope left as in Cauvery basin areas, especially in Bengaluru's Urban and Rural districts, the southwest monsoon yields rain for the next month. After that, the northeast monsoon will bring rain in October and November. If cloud seeding is taken up now, there will still be three months of rain in certain parts, he said.
Agriculture Minister Chaluvaraya Swamy spoke about cloud seeding when the rain was delayed in June, but no progress was made after that. Capt Sharma has been part of the cloud seeding exercise since 2003 when then minister HK Patil tried it. Capt Sharma said it would cost Rs 5 crore as the material used is common salt and it is not expensive. The other important ingredient is fuel for the aircraft and the
aircraft rentals in addition to labour.
But former secretary to the minor irrigation department, Rudraiah, told TNIE, “There is one problem with cloud seeing, which is quantifying the actual yield after the procedure. If it rains, some claim it is because of cloud seeding, while others say it is normal rain. It has been used even in the past, but its yield could not be established accurately.’’
Farmers and farmer groups have complained that precipitation in Karnataka has only been a fraction of the annual average. But meteorological department experts said that monsoon usually lasts till September-end, and till then, no one can say whether it has failed. The India Meteorological Department has predicted rain in the coming days.
IISc Atmospheric Sciences Prof Prosenjit Ghosh, speaking to The News Indian Express over the phone from Austin, Texas, in the US, said, “It is surface temperature contrast that modifies wind strength. It is not enough this year. ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) might be responsible for such a pattern, which led to large-scale drought in 1997.’’