Monsoon reaches Himachal in advance

The southwest monsoon on Tuesday reached Himachal Pradesh in advance with many areas witnessing moderate rainfall in the past 24 hours, the weather office here said.

"The southwest monsoon arrived almost a week in advance in the state," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office, told IANS.

The monsoon normally hits the state by June 27, he said.

Nahan town in Sirmaur district got 49 mm till 8.30 a.m., the highest in the state, while Gaggal and Dharamsala both in Kangra district recorded 43 mm and 21 mm rain, respectively.

State capital Shimla got 16.6 mm rain, while Dalhousie received just two mm rain.

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people in Himachal Pradesh, which saw deficit rainfall in the past two southwest monsoons, providing direct employment to 69 percent of its workforce.

The state recorded a deficit rainfall of 27 per cent last year. In 2014, the monsoon rain deficiency in the state was 38 per cent, making it the driest monsoon in the decade.

This season the state may see good rainfall, state Additional Chief Secretary Tarun Shridhar has said.

Quoting the India Meteorological Department's station here, he said timely preparedness for the monsoon is being ensured and alerts have been issued to the authorities concerned.

--IANS

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