2017 will have normal rains: IMD

Normal monsoon expected this year: IMD

Sending a positive signal to the farm sector, the national weather forecaster has predicted a normal monsoon for this year with the seasonal monsoon rainfall likely to be 96 percent of the long period average (LPA). Also, even the rainfall distribution over the country is expected to be normal. While no prediction of El Nino or La Nina effect has been made yet, IMD plans to come up with more specific predictions in June as by then there will be more information available on the weather pattern.

South Indian reservoirs: Water level dips to 11 percent 

According to the data of the Central Water Commission, the collective storage of major reservoirs in the five southern states-- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu-- is only 11 percent of the total live storage capacity. The current year storage is less than the corresponding period of last year which was 14 percent and is also less than the average storage of the corresponding period in the last ten years.

Soon, lost springs will be traced

In an attempt to solve the water crisis of people in the Himalayas, the Central Groundwater Board has proposed to conduct surveys to trace lost springs in deep pockets of the Himalayas. This is a first-of-a-kind project and will be conducted in the region stretching from Jammu and Kashmir to the north-eastern states. In the first phase, baseline information in this connection will be collected from Uttarakhand and Sikkim, followed by rejuvenation of springs in the second leg of the project.  

Drinking water in 11 Haryana districts unfit for consumption 

As per the recent report of the Central Groundwater Board, groundwater in 11 districts of the state is unfit for consumption due to high salinity or increased concentration of nitrate or fluoride. The worst hit districts are Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Jhajjar, Mewat and Sirsa, where the water is not even suitable for irrigation. The possible reason behind high salinity is more evapo-transpiration than precipitation and lack of drainage. 

Udaipur’s Udaisagar lake is now a protected area

In a bid to restrict activities in and around the Udaisagar lake in Udaipur, the Rajasthan government has declared the water body as a protected area and has brought it under the Rajasthan Lake Development Authority. With the notification in place, no construction and developmental activity is allowed in the prohibited area without prior permission. However, two months time has been granted to any affected party to file objections to the order.  

This is a roundup of important news from April 18 - 24, 2017. Also read the policy matters this week.