Home > News > PTI

Maharashtra to go for cloud seeding in seven districts

August 23, 2003 01:00 IST

The Maharashtra Cabinet on Friday decided to go in for cloud seeding in seven districts for artificial rainfall.

The move comes after the success of a similar exercise in neighbouring Karnataka.

The programme will be implemented from September, and Solapur, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Beed and Osmanabad districts will benefit from it, Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told the media in Mumbai.

The total cost for the project, to be implemented by US-based Weather Modification Company, is around Rs 4.5 crore, Shinde said.

Meteorologists of the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) have stated that rain-deficient areas can get 15-24 per cent of average rainfall by cloud seeding.

After a careful study of the clouds, they are sprinkled with sodium chloride and silver iodide, which help in the liquification of humidity.

Asked why the decision was taken when the monsoon was coming to an end, he said, "We were waiting for the rainfall. After it became clear that we would not get rains we decided to go in for cloud seeding."


Article Tools

Email this Article

Printer-Friendly Format

Letter to the Editor







© Copyright 2003 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.







Copyright © 2003 rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.