Karnataka; Cloud-seeding from Friday

Bengaluru: The private aircraft that the government intends to use for cloud seeding in the state from Friday, has arrived from the USA fully equipped for the job at Jakkur Airport. Cloud seeding will be done at a cost of Rs 35 crore to help farmers owing to the failure of the monsoon in many parts of Karnataka. 

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj(RDPR) Minister, H K Patil on Monday inspected the  aircraft to ensure that it was ready for the operation that will see radars  at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru, Shorpur in Yadgir district and Gadag track moisture bearing clouds and then do the required seeding.

The radars are expected to be installed over the next two to three days. Although around 45 countries have been using the technology for the last 40 years, Karnataka tried cloud seeding for the first time in 2003 during the S M Krishna government when Mr Patil was Water Resources Minister. The then government spent Rs 9 crore over 83 days on the exercise.

It was done again in 2008 through the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, a NGO in Gadag, for three days starting July 19, bringing rain in the range of 20 mm to 45 mm to the districts of Gadag, Haveri and Dharwad.

The government has decided to resort to it once again owing to the drought in some parts of Karnataka. Although the state should have received 1138 mm of rain over the last 55 days , the rainfall has been  erratic and unevenly distributed, making the lives of farmers miserable.