June rainfall deficient so far in 18 Maharashtra districts; sowing hit

PUNE: June rainfall has so far been deficient in half of Maharashtra, affecting sowing activities and compounding the drought-like situation that has not eased in almost a year now.
Eighteen Maharashtra districts, including Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Nandurbar, Hingoli and Chandrapur, have reported largely deficient to deficient rainfall from June 1 to June 20, IMD data showed.

Multiple areas in the state are yet to begin sowing because of the delay in rainfall despite the onset of monsoon, an agriculture department official said. Some parts of Maharashtra are still waiting for monsoon to arrive, though the normal date for the rains to cover the entire state was June 15.
Farmers TOI spoke to said they had expected good rain this month as per the IMD's earlier forecast. However, the situation in several districts has worsened because of the drought-like situation. IMD has forecast very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over the ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra on June 20-21, Konkan and Goa from June 20-24.
'Rain to start in full swing from June 24'
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over the ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra on June 20-21, Konkan and Goa from June 20-24, as forecast by IMD, could ease the drought-like situation, but may also cause localised flooding of roads and even landslides.
S D Sanap, scientist, weather services at IMD-Pune, said, "Rainfall is likely to increase gradually and after June 24, the intensity will increase in Maharashtra, including Pune. Rain has already started in parts of the state from Thursday."
On the rainfall deficits in several districts this June so far, Sanap told TOI: "These include parts of north Madhya Maharashtra and Kolhapur. The main reason is that while the monsoon flow was good in the first week of June, the strength was lost during the second week of June. This caused deficient rain in some regions. The monsoon winds are now strengthening and we expect a gradual increase in rain in the coming days. Monsoon rain will start in full swing from June 24."
The farmers in the state, in the meantime, continue to suffer with subpar rain so far. Milind Paanchpande, a farmer from Buldhana, said, "We have not started sowing yet. The initial rain during the monsoon onset led some farmers to undertake sowing. However, that failed because of deficient or no rain thereafter. The rain amounts during the monsoon onset were also uneven, with some places not getting significant rainfall."
He said, "It has not rained since eight days in Buldhana. Unless we get significant rain amounts, like 75-100mm, we cannot undertake sowing. A delay in sowing is likely to affect yields, though we can continue to sow till July 26."
Milind Nikam, another farmer from Amravati, said, "There has been no rainfall in the last few days and we have had mostly sunny weather. We have not even begun sowing yet. Sowing has been delayed for several days. The cotton crop that we had sown has withered due to the lack of rain. Any further delay in sowing could affect yields." The usual sowing window for kharif crops in Maharashtra is from June 15 to July 15.