Odisha records 25 pc deficit rainfall

Bhubaneswar: With the southwest monsoon remaining subdued, Odisha has recorded 25 per cent deficit rainfall which severely affected agricultural activities across the State, official sources said.

However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday claimed that rainfall activities of the past two days have helped compensate deficit rainfall ratio by 6 per cent from 31 per cent to 25 per cent. According to IMD sources, 17 districts of the State have received a deficit while only 10 districts registered normal rainfall from June 1 to July 7.

The State has received 206 mm rainfall against normal rainfall of 276.6 mm during the period, registering a deficit of 25 per cent, weather scientist Umashankar Das said. Deogarh district in the western region of the State has received 410.8 mm rainfall which is 53 per cent excess than the normal precipitation of 268.3 mm in the district.

Similarly, Kalahandi district in the western region received the highest shortfall of 64 per cent as the region has so far received 117.5 mm of rainfall while the normal figure stands at 325.1 mm during the period.

The 10 districts that witnessed normal or more rainfall included Angul, Bargarh, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, Malkangiri, Koraput, Sundargarh, Nuapada and Sambalpur. While the monsoon usually reaches Odisha between June 10 and 12, this year it has been delayed and arrived on June 22. Meanwhile, farmers in most places of the State are facing difficulties in growing paddy saplings due to lack of water in agricultural fields, a senior agriculture department official admitted and hoped that the ongoing spell of rainfall will compensate for the situation.