Barring East India, progress of southwest monsoon has been steady over most parts of the country. The southwest monsoon entered the mainland on May 29, two days ahead of schedule.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), eastern and north eastern parts of the country have received rainfall 34 per cent below normal from June 1 to June 15. The region should have received 151.8 millimetres of rainfall during the fortnight, but got 99.8 millimetres of rains.
This should cause some concern because the region produces paddy, maize and vegetables. West Bengal is one of India’s largest rice-producing states, while Bihar is a big producer of maize.
“These are very early days in monsoon’s progress and we are hopeful things will normalise,” a senior agriculture ministry official said.
| MONSOON MOVEMENT Rains from June 1 to June 15, 2011 | |||
| Regions | Actual* | Normal* | Departure From Normal** |
| Northwest | 25.5 | 22.8 | +12 |
| Central | 57.8 | 48.6 | +19 |
| South Peninsula | 103.3 | 70.6 | +46 |
| East & North-East | 99.8 | 151.8 | -34 |
| Total Country | 63.5 | 61.4 | +03 |
| *In millimeters **In percentages Source: India Metereological Department | |||
Rains in other parts of country have been largely more than normal. Monsoon in southern peninsula comprising Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have been 46 per cent above normal.
Overall, the country till now has received almost 63.5 millimetres of rainfall, three per cent above normal during this time of the year. Officials said 70 per cent of total rainfall is in July. The met office said rainfall will intensify over central India during the coming week and might enter some parts of Madhya Pradesh in the next two-three days.
“There is high probability rains will advance to some parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh in the next three-four days,” the statement said.
The timely arrival of monsoon coupled with some late showers in April has boosted sowing of kharif crops. According to the latest data from the agriculture ministry, sowing of paddy has started and the crop has been sown in around 10.35 lakh hectares till now, marginally up from 10.32 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year. “Sowing will pick up pace once monsoon becomes more active,” an official said. The government has targeted a production of 102 million tonnes of rice in 2011-2012, almost 8 per cent more than this year. Pulses have been sown in around 2.86 lakh hectares, 5,000 hectares more than the same period last year.
“The area under oilseeds till Thursday is 47,000 hectares more than last year,” the statement said. Acreage under cotton and sugarcane is almost 2.23 lakh hectares and 6.23 lakh hectares more than last year. The met department will come out with its second forecast of 2011 monsoon next week.
