The Jharkhand state is experiencing a heavy bout of monsoon season with a heavy rainfall alert in various regions of the state continuing till July 28. The situation has changed dramatically with the weather as Jharkhand has received 52 percent rainfall more than the usual seasonal average rainfall so far and this has left the people with the fear of floods and waterlogging in the low-lying areas.
Weather officials said that ten districts in the state should have moderate to immense rainfall during the next 24 hours. Persistent rain experienced in the course of the last few days has led to a high soil saturation level and the possibility of local flooding and destruction of standing crops in low land agricultural areas.
Although the rainfall is quite positive to the water reservoirs and the agriculture up to some level, it is currently straining the infrastructure capacity on urban drainage and the rural facilities. Traffic jams and waterlogged streets have already been witnessed in the cities such as Ranchi, Dhanbad and Jamshedpur. The rural roads of Godda and Dumka have also been turned into slippery conditions with mud flats making them partially inaccessible.
District administrations in insecure areas have been warned, and the citizens told to stay in their homes during heavy downpour, avoid travelling through flooded roads and also be cautious in such areas during the flood. Communal services have been put on standby and local authorities have been directed to be alert in checking drainage and river levels.
Although farmers mostly greet the rains, they are also raising alarm about the sudden intensity of rains. The name of the disease due to excess water is root rot, which inhibits the maturity of crops, particularly the paddy fields, in case they are not sandwiched between rainfalls. Agricultural officers have been directed to carry out field assessment and provide advisories in time to avoid significant losses among crops.
In the meantime, in some districts, schools and institutions can have problems with their schedules in case of continuous rain. The situation is of close interest to parents and school authorities particularly in the hilly or remote places where transportation is hindered during wet rains.
Jharkhand normally enjoys a lot of rainfall in the monsoon season and the figures have exceeded expectations this year. The above-average occurrence of rain or rather, 52 percent higher than normal rainfall is not only an indication of existence of the changing weather complexion, but also could be affected by the increased climatic changes and the existence of pressure cells in areas.
The India Meteorological Department has insisted that additional showers will be experienced in the next few days and citizens need to be on edge, especially those in the rivers, streams and those in hill slope precincts. There is also the risk of flash floods as yet unreported in some regions in the state.
Officials remain optimistic that, as it reaches the end of July, rainfalls will become less strong so that it is relatively easy to transition to August without much infrastructural losses or comparable damages to agriculture. Nevertheless, at the moment, the state is in wait-and-see mode, and people at large should be more alert about this by regularly checking official weather updates and being responsible when monsoon is increased.
In the meantime, Jharkhand looks at the skies with a sense of relief and caution as the rains keep on falling.
