Two aircraft will seed the clouds for 400 hours 

Bengaluru: Faced with deficient rainfall, the State Government will launch cloud-seeding operations from mid-July to coincide with sowing activity. The Government is spending Rs.93 crore on cloud-seeding for 2019-20 and 2020-21. 

The government has already received clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to fly two aircraft that will release aerosol (silver iodide or sodium chloride) into the clouds to stimulate the precipitation process and form rain, said Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister Krishna Byre Gowda yesterday. 

Authorities are still waiting clearance from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade to import three weather-monitoring radars from the USA that will not only detect rain-bearing clouds, but also study cloud growth. 

It was decided earlier to fly the aircraft from Bengaluru and Hubballi. The government has now picked Mysuru and Hubballi. “Bengaluru has three air spaces — HAL, Yelahanka Air Force base and the International Airport. Since they have their own Air Traffic Control (ATC), we expect restrictions. We will need to act fast as soon as clouds are available. Any delay in response time will result in an opportunity lost. So, we have shifted one of the centres to Mysuru,” Krishna Byre Gowda told reporters.

In 2017, the “Varshadhaare,” a cloud-seeding project generated 2.51 tmcft of additional water and rainfall was 27.90 percent above the natural rainfall. This time, authorities expect precipitation to increase by about 30 percent due to cloud-seeding.

Last time, the Government ordered 300 hours of aircraft flying for a 60-day period. This time, it has been increased to 400 hours for 90 days. 

Monsoon session

The Monsoon Session of Karnataka Legislature will begin from July 12 and will continue till July 26.

The decision of holding the Session was taken at the Karnataka Cabinet meeting in Bengaluru yesterday.