Above normal rainfall a boost for Kharif season in Andhra

The Kharif agricultural season is progressing well in Andhra Pradesh, thanks to good rains in the first fortnight of this month.
The state as a whole received 88 mm of rainfall since June 1, which is 69 per cent more than the normal 52.1 mm.
This is seen as a good tiding for the state which reeled under drought last year and had deficient rainfall in 2011, vastly affecting agricultural operations in Kharif.
So far, different crops were sown in 4.06 lakh hectares in various districts though it is just five per cent of the total season's sown area of 81.12 lakh ha.

What is bringing cheers to farmers as well as government is the good inflows into major reservoirs on rivers, particularly the Krishna basin, a state release said.
Jurala on river Krishna is currently holding 4.14 tmc ft of water, one tmc ft more than last year. Water storage level in Nagarjuna Sagar touched 150 tmc ft while in Srisailam it is 37. 76 tmc ft.

In the Godavari river basin, Sriram Sagar is brimming with 10.10 tmc ft of water storage while the Godavari Delta System is holding 3.04 tmc ft. The level in Singur is just 4.78 tmc ft, much less than the 10.18 tmc ft storage by this time last year.

"The rainfall recorded so far this year in the state is the highest in the last ten years. Copious rainfall is expected throughout this season and Andhra Pradesh may receive an overall rainfall of 103 per cent as per the Met Department's forecast," the state Disaster Management said in a release.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy directed the authorities concerned to ensure seeds and other farm inputs were made available to farmers in required quantities as the sowing operations were in full swing.