IITM seeks to keep cloud experiment alive

Enough data has been assimilated but the delay in permission from the government led to a delay in cloud seeding. “Last year we also faced problems with litigation issues on the company that had bagged the tender for the aircraft and this year the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) delayed permission to use the aircraft hired from South Africa for rain seeding,’’ said director,IITM,BN Goswami.

The experiment,Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX),which had the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) allocating Rs 50 crore for three years from 2008 was supposed to end in 2011. The IITM proposes to extend it in the 12th Five Year plan as the 11th ends this year,said Goswami. “There is bound to be issues but we are trying for an extension,” he adds. The upcoming Cloud Physics Laboratory in Mahabaleshwar where the government is in the final stages of allotment of land for a laboratory will give a boost to the project.

“The delay last year in implementing the project was due to some litigation issues on the company which had bid for the aircraft. While this year the aircraft arrived from South Africa on time,DGCA rules delayed the process,which saw us starting the experiment only last month,” points out Goswami of the delay.

The MoES is aware of this and is trying to ease the situation by considering the proposal. The IITM proposal mentions that hurdles range from permission from external affairs ministry,home ministry,air force and defence and none of the sanctions come on time affecting the project. A separate aircraft for the programme has been proposed to avoid the delay but parameters like where to keep the aircraft and pilots hired,their salary has to be discussed by the ministry.

Cloud seeding is spreading of either dry ice,or more commonly,silver iodide aerosols,into the upper part of clouds to try to stimulate precipitation.