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To effectively tackle the prevailing rain deficit and looming drought situation in Karnataka, State Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy on Friday flagged off the government's ambitious 'Cloud Seeding' programme at the HAL Airport in Bengaluru.
The State Minister flagged off the special light aircraft prepared for cloud seeding by waving the national flag and the state flag, expressing hope that the project would succeed and ease the water crisis in the state. Speaking on the occasion, Minister Chaluvarayaswamy said, "The state has received less rainfall this year. There is a possibility of severe drought in the coming days, the exact magnitude of which cannot be estimated now. The monsoon season will end by this month. If drinking water is not stored by the end of this month, there will be a severe scarcity till the end of June next year." "Hence, to compensate for the water shortage and in the interest of farmers, we have taken up cloud seeding. The previous cloud seeding operation was 35 per cent successful. Whatever the loss or profit, our only intention is that this project should benefit our people. We are not worried about the financial burden on the government. Protecting the interest of the state is our only priority," he clarified. GC Chandrashekar, who is the Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, former Minister HK Patil, MLA Konareddy, Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta and several other dignitaries were present on the occasion. For the estimated cost, administrative approval of Rs 28.52 crore (excluding GST) has been granted. Jointly implemented by Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd (KNNL) under the Water Resources Department and the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) under the Revenue Department for implementation. The contract has been awarded to M/s Kyathi Climate Modification Consultants - LLP by exempting it from the KTPP Act. The government has already constituted two committees to manage the cloud seeding operation scientifically and effectively. The Monitoring Committee is headed by the Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner of the Government. It will oversee and review the entire project. The Technical Advisory & Evaluation Committee is an eight-member team headed by the Director of KSNDMC. It will provide technical guidance and will update cloud seeding information and its impact every two hours. Cloud seeding is a scientific method of accelerating rainfall by artificially spraying chemicals to make the moisture in clouds fall as rain. Chemicals are used based on the nature of the clouds (warm or cold clouds). That includes Silver Iodide, which is the most commonly used chemical and helps to combine droplets in the cloud and convert them into ice crystals,Potassium Iodide,Dry Ice (Solid Carbon Dioxide); andSodium Chloride (Common Salt) which is used in warm clouds to attract water droplets and make them into thicker raindrops. The technical team continuously monitors sunlight, wind speed and cloud density through the Doppler Radar of the Meteorological Department.Cumulonimbus clouds that have the potential to rain but are passing without raining are identified. As soon as clouds are identified, special aircraft (fitted with weather radar and flares) fly inside or below those clouds and spray chemicals (by burning through flares). The chemical particles attract small water droplets inside the cloud, which become heavy and fall to the earth as rain. There is a possibility of rain within 30 minutes to 1 hour after the process. No specific districts have been pre-decided for the operation in the state. Instead, based on continuous reports from the technical team, aircraft will immediately fly to areas with rain deficit, catchment areas of major reservoirs and districts facing agricultural crisis whenever suitable clouds are found in the sky over those areas. Weather data available every two hours will determine the location of the operation. Karnataka government has declared 101 talukas as drought-affected. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday said the State Cabinet has decided to convene a special Assembly session on September 21, 22 and 23 to discuss the severe drought situation. (ANI)
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