Shreyas H S
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Jun 25: They say, in Mangalore when it rains, it pours. Unfortunately though, the people of Dakshina Kannada are yet to witness the roaring majesty of the south west monsoon this time.
Despite the fact that June normally sees average rainfall, the amount of rain this time is scanty. Till Tuesday June 24, the district has only managed to receive 478.4mm of rainfall, which is way below the expected 728.1mm.
However, during the last monsoon, in the same month the district enjoyed 1228.1mm rainfall as against the normal rainfall of 977.2mm predicted by the Indian Metrological Department (IMD). The last monsoon brought smiles on the faces of farmers with 20% more rainfall.
This year, so far the district has had a 34% deficit in rainfall. This dip in the rainfall has also alarmed paddy growers who sow seeds at higher altitudes. "Had the density of rain remained the same across the district, paddy growers would have switched to short-term variety of crops instead of the long-term variety," said assistant director of department of agriculture Balchandra.
The growers are awaiting the arrival normal rainfall from the month of July. The department of agriculture is mulling to cover 33,000 hectares of land during this monsoon to increase the productivity of paddy. The district currently has sown seeds in 1,700 hectares - 827 hectares less compared to last season in this period, Balchandra added.
The direction of the wind that is moving from north-west is a cause for worry in the district. It is also predicted that the district till the end of this month is likely to reel under similar weather condition. "Had the direction of the wind been from south-west, the district would have received normal rain," said deputy director IMD, Bangalore B Puttana.
The El Nino effect is the prime reason for the change in the direction of the wind. The rise in the sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean stymies monsoon rains. This has also influenced the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada. He said, the IMD has predicted good rainfall in the month of July, which perhaps would bring some relief to the paddy growers in this region.