July begins with healthy rainfall, sowing status better than last year: Report

Signalling a normal monsoon ahead The cumulative rainfall reached 1 per cent above the longterm average as on July 6 while weekly rainfall as on July 3 was 32 per cent above the longterm average in the country a report showed on MondaySpatial divergence has reduced with most of the country receiving healthy rains during the last weekNorth and West India 3 per cent Central India 6 per cent East and North East India 0 per cent and the southern peninsula 13 per cent have now all had normal rains so far according to the report by Emkay Global Financial ServicesldquoWith June having ended in deficit it is imperative that July sees healthy rainfall and the month has begun on a promising noterdquo said Madhavi Arora Lead Economist Emkay Global Financial ServicesWhile sowing was delayed it has now picked up and is better than last yearldquoTotal area under sowing 241 million hectare as on June 28 is sharply higher 33 per cent YoY than last year This is mainly due to accelerated sowing of pulses and oilseedsrdquo the report notedRice sowing area is the same as last year thus far whereas sugarcane is better Among nonfood crops cotton sowing is much higherOverall area under sowing is at 22 per cent of normal area sown compared with 186 per cent at the same point in 2023ldquoJuly is extremely important in this regard with nearly 80 per cent of sowing activity completed by the end of the monthrdquo said AroraWe also published this earlierHeavy rain brings Mumbai to halt road amp rail traffic hit schools shutOvernight heavy rain pounded large parts of Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR hitting suburban and longdistance trains roads and highways while stranding lakhs of commuters trooping out to work on the first working day of the week and all schools were shut for the morning session officials said here on MondayIn just six hours many areas in the city recorded more than a staggering 200 mm 300 mm rainfall from 1 am till 7 am according to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation BMC and the downpour continued with a forecast of heavy rain for the next two daysAs Mumbai slept the skies opened up for the first major downpour of the current monsoon and most citizens woke up to waterlogged roads railway tracks flooded lowlying areas water in homes shops or offices blocked subways and many places rendered inaccessible to commuteThe earliest of the commuters before dawn encountered either delays or cancellations of suburban local trains the cityrsquos lifeline which transports over 850 million people daily with huge crowds waiting at almost all the railway stations dotting the Central Railway and Western Railway networks sprawling Mumbai plus Thane Palghar and Raigad MMRBesides important trains that ferry thousands of commuters on the MumbaiGujarat MumbaiPune MumbaiKolhapur sectors were also hit by cancellations or massive delays or getting stranded at stations en routeIn Mumbai several subways including Santacruz Andheri Jogeshwari Malad Kandival and Dahisar were flooded with 35 feet of water and eastwest traffic was haltedRailway tracks were flooded near Kalyan Dombivali Ulhasnagar Thane Bhandup Kurla Sion and Wadala hitting suburban trainsSeveral housing complexes were waterlogged in Dahisar Borivali Kandivali Malad Jogeshwari Andheri Santacruz Sion Wadala Kurla Ghatkopar Bhandup and other placesScores of big and small vehicles were either stuck or submerged partlyfully in different areas of the city tree falls and other minor incidents though there are no reports of any casualties so farAlso read Heavy rains lash Mumbai several areas inundated trains disrupted holiday for schools colleges declaredThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever