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Journalism of Courage
Since the start of August, rain has eluded Pune and the rest of Maharashtra and while the water at the dams is more than sufficient to meet the needs of Pune city, the overall dry spell can result in problems for the state in the upcoming days.
As of Wednesday, Pune district received 52 mm of rainfall as compared to the normal of 160.5 mm. Similarly, the entire Maharashtra reported a deficit of 70 per cent rain with just 44.70 mm of rain being received against the normal of 151.20 mm of rain.
For most parts of the state, the Indian Meteorological Department has ruled out any chances of rain for the next five days. Only the Vidarbha region is expected to receive heavy to very heavy rain in the upcoming days. In some places of Vidharbha isolated rainfall would be witnessed.
This break in monsoon comes at a time when the water situation of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad has improved as all the five dams which supply water are either full or over 80 per cent of their capacity.
In fact, dams like Khadakwasla and Pawana have started to discharge water as they are nearing their capacity. The break in monsoon comes at a time when the crops across the state are in the growing stage and the moisture in the soil is enough to ensure their growth.
For crops like cotton and soyabean, another spell of rain is required before the flowering and the pod formation stage. Meanwhile, cane growers have talked about the attack of beetles due to low rain and the state agriculture department has asked farmers to take precaution to prevent the lodging of canes.
The IMD, in its bulletin issued earlier on Wednesday, has said most parts of the state would not see any rain for the next five days. The monsoon trough is at present near the foothills of the Himalayas and is expected to move gradually towards its normal position in the next two days. Similarly, a low pressure area is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal and its neighbouring regions on August 18.
