The Hindu Business Line : AP Govt to take up cloud seeding on permanent basis

THE Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has announced that the Government will take up the `Indira Meghamadhanam (The Churning of Clouds) programme on a permanent basis to induce rains across the parched stretches in the State.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the cloud-seeding operation here, he said the programme would be extended to North Telangana districts in the next 20 days. The Government would spend Rs 8 crore for the purpose.

The much-publicised `Meghamadhanam', however, failed to take off, with clouds playing truant. The exercise would go on as scheduled with weathermen assuring a good cloud cast in the next couple of days.

In the first phase that would cost Rs 12 crore, Meghamadhanam would cover 10 districts, including Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar.

The Government would press two Cessna aircraft into service for the purpose. While one uses Hyderabad as a base, the other will use Puttaparthi and Bangalore airports to cover the whole of Rayalaseema region and Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore districts.

The second aircraft is expected to start its operations in a couple of days.

The Chief Minister said cloud seeding was a regular exercise in countries such as China and US. "If the exercise yields results, it will result in generation of power worth Rs 2,000 crore. The whole exercise can give us 10 per cent-20 per cent additional rains," he said.

Mr M.G. Gopal, Secretary (Rain Shadow Areas), had earlier said that the whole exercise would cost the Government Rs 12 crore. "Lack of rain resulted in an annual loss of about Rs 10,000 crore for the past four years," he said.

He, however, said that the Government expected a success of 20 to 30 per cent.

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