Monsoon expected to accelerate crop planting

NEW DELHI: India received good monsoon showers on Monday, with rainfall touching the normal level for the first time since June 20, and the weather office said rains would soon cover the entire country in a few days.

“Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into remaining parts of the country during the next 2-3 days,” the India Meteorological Department said in its latest report. In its forecast up to July 21, the IMD predicts increased rainfall in many parts of the country, including the dry regions in the west although it will be subdued in the peninsula. On Monday, the country’s rainfall was 4 per cent above normal, helped by heavy showers in in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana. This helped the seasonal monsoon deficit fall slightly to 42 per cent from 43 per cent until Sunday.

Rainfall is expected to accelerate crop planting which is currently as bad as it was in the drought year of 2009. The north and northwestern parts of the country remained relatively dry except for Himachal Pradesh, which saw heavy rainfall, which would increase the flow of rivers and help improve the water level in reservoirs.

Water level in India’s biggest reservoirs has depleted rapidly because of the exceptionally dry spell. Normally, the level starts rising by the end of June and fills up the reservoirs, which provide drinking water, irrigation and hydropower generation until the next year’s monsoon.