PANJIM: In a countrywide trend of hot and dry summer, Goa has suffered a 71 per cent rainfall deficit in the first 20 days of the South West monsoon season. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Goa has predicted that conditions are becoming favourable for active monsoon currents.
After an almost five-day long delay, the South West monsoon had onset over Goa coast on June 10. Since then, till date, the State recorded almost 174.8mm of rainfall, as against the normal discharge of 607 mm of rains. The first nine days of the month (June 1 to 9) recorded no rainfall activities.
So far, June 18 recorded the highest amount of rainfall that is around 50mm.
In 2022, the month of June ended with nine per cent deficit rains and monsoon had picked up in July.
Before that in the 2020 and 2021 season, June had reported surplus rains.
In a bulletin issued on Wednesday, IMD said that conditions are becoming favourable for active monsoon circulation leading to increased rainfall activity over the region in the coming days.
IMD has issued heavy rainfall warnings for the State on June 24 and 25.
Meanwhile, WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar hinted that the government may have to pump water from the Assonora water treatment plant to tide over the crisis at Podoshem treatment plant.
He said that the water level in the Anjunem dam has drastically dropped and in order to overcome the water scarcity, the WRD may be forced to pump water from the Assonora water treatment plant to the Podoshem purification project.
The minister said that due to the monsoon deficit, the water levels in most of the dams are depleting. However there is no shortage of water in the South Goa district and in Tiswadi and Ponda talukas.
The Anjunem Dam is the source of water to the Podoshem water treatment plant which supplies water to Sankhali, talukas of Sattari and Bicholim and other areas. The minister said that the old PWD pipeline which was used to draw water from River Valvanti to Podoshem will now be used to reverse the flow of water from Assonora to Podoshem.
“By Saturday we will try to streamline the process and supply water to the surrounding areas in a controlled manner,” the minister said.
Incidentally, the Podoshem water treatment plant has been closed down due to shortage of water supply, he said. At the same time the minister added that since the water level at Opa has increased due to the rains in the Ghat section, water supply to Shiroda, Ponda and Tiswadi will not be affected. The water level in the Mhaisal Dam has also risen due to rains, thereby streamlining water supply to Panchawadi and nearby areas, he said.
According to WRD sources, the latest water levels of dams is as under: Chapoli (41 per cent), Amthane (40 per cent), Selaulim (20 per cent), Mhaisal (2 per cent) and Anjunem (2 per cent)