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Cloud seeding to go on till early Dec

Team behind operation satisfied with results so far.

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Cloud-seeding operations, which started in the catchment areas of Cauvery, Kabini and Hemavathi river basins last week, will go on till the first week of December.

Arvind Sharma, CEO of Agni Aviation, which has been entrusted with carrying out cloud seeding, said: “The window of opportunity is till the first week of December and we will be carrying out operations till then. The results have so far been quite satisfactory as it has contributed 20-25% of the rainfall,” he said.

Over the last couple of days, many parts of the state, especially southern Karnataka, has been receiving considerable rainfall. Sharma added that one aircraft based at the Mysore airport has been carrying out sorties for about six to seven hours every day.

“Apart from the Cauvery, Kabini and Hemavathi river basins, the cloud seeding operations will also be carried over the KRS dam, Mekedatu and the south of Bangalore areas,” Sharma added. He said that if there is a requirement (depending on the cloud formation), another aircraft would operate from Bangalore to carry out cloud-seeding.

The state government’s decision to give `4.5 crore for the cloud-seeding project to augment rain in the river basins of Cauvery, Kabini and Hemavathi has come in for criticism from some quarters as it has not yielded the desired results in the past. “We must remember that cloud seeding is used to increase precipitation based on what nature has to offer and not the other way,” Sharma said.

Cloud seeding involves spreading a chemical, like silver iodide, into clouds. The silver iodide provides a crystal around which moisture can condense. The moisture is already present in the clouds, but silver iodide essentially makes rain clouds more effective at dispensing their water.    inbox@dnaindia.net

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