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ShareMumbai: Rain gods may well arrive in time to save the day for water-starved Mumbaikars.
Going by the predictions made by the regional meteorological department and international weather sites, the monsoon is well on its path of revival.
According to the meteorological department, the conditions favouringhealthy rains over the city and the catchment belts located on the outskirts were developing. Dr RV Sharma, deputy director general, Mumbai's met department, said, "The monsoon trough was getting normal. It was expected to further improve in the next two days." He, however, clarified that the rainfall pattern could not be predicted unless the
monsoon trough was perfect.
The favourable predictions have got civic hydraulic engineers all excited. Many are now looking up to the sky eagerly in the hope to catch rain clouds.
Should the natural rains play deserter once again, preparations are being made to carry out a weather modification exercise, using silver iodide crystals and furnaces, to induce rains. The exercise would be the fifth one of its kind this season. Four previous ones have not yielded desired results.
Cloud seeding plans got another boost on Monday when the municipal corporation managed to procure permission to park a US-made aircraft, N81WE, at the Ojhar airport in Nashik. The aircraft is to be put to use for an aerial seeding experiment, expected to be carried out by the end of the month. The permission was sought from the Ojhar-basedHindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Senior civic officials informed that the aircraft has already taken off from its American base and is currently stationed at the Muscat airport. "The aircraft can now be flown to Nashik in a day. We are awaiting a clearance from the director general of civil aviation," a civic engineer said.
The municipal corporation has appointed a private firm, Agni Aviation, a firm having cloud seeding experience, to fly the aircraft from the Nashik airbase to the Modaksagar catchment and conduct aerial seeding experiments. A radar station is being readied at the catchment for the purpose.
The water available in the lakes currently will last only until mid-February. While the BMC has already imposed a 15% cut in supply, the threat of these becoming steeper is looming. A high-level BMC meet is expected to review the water situation in a day or two.
