Govt. plans to take up cloud seeding in drought-hit areas at onset of monsoon

Govt. plans to take up cloud seeding in drought-hit areas at onset of monsoon

BENGALURU: Having faced successive droughts, the government is planning to take up cloud seeding in parts of the state at the onset of monsoon, especially in catchment areas of major reservoirs.

"The government is taking no chances this year as another failed monsoon would prove disastrous for the state," said agriculture minister Krishna Byre Gowda.

Sources said the government fears another drought would affect its fortunes in the assembly polls scheduled for May next year. Gowda said: "We are ready with a draft bid document for the cloud-seeding project and are likely to finalize the process in the next couple of months."