PANJIM: The erratic spells of rains has become a cause of concern for all in the State including farmers, parents and the elderly.
Goa has been witnessing a delayed monsoon this year with rainfall only at isolated places at uneven intervals against the seasonal rainfall expected annually. The pre-monsoon showers too were delayed and later cyclone Vayu in the Arabian Sea delayed both, the pre-monsoon showers as well as the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall.
While farmers have a very visible cause of concern as farming activities have been hit due to a delayed monsoon, young parents are worried as school-going children could suffer from unexpected diseases. And the elderly are facing difficult times in adapting to an elongated summer season with sudden changes in temperatures within hours during the 24 hours of a day.
An elderly lady in the city, who did not want to be named, said it is unusual that in June one sweats due to extreme humidity as if he is still in May. “We had been seeing this slow and gradual change of rains suddenly appearing in December and March in the last few years, but so much of a delay in the annual rainfall is disturbing. At times it just drizzles or a spell of rain showers will be there and again it is bright and sunny. This was not how rains were in June in Goa”, she said.
Stating that the elderly could suffer from the sudden extremity of heat and sweating to chilling nights, she said “In my childhood and adulthood, the month of June would bring respite from the summer. It would be thundering and heavy showers, but slowly that has disappeared and now here we are with almost no rain. Due to unpleasant weather we are already losing sleep during the nights and that affects our eating and sleeping cycles and overall health.”
Nadia Aslam, a mother of three kids said earlier the fear was about only contagious and viral diseases, which the children would get during the monsoons but the uneven rainfall is cause of concern. “There are many issues if there is no proper rainfall as the whole ecosystem is hit. Birds, animals, trees, everything is affected and then that affects us human beings. Children are most vulnerable and can catch diseases easily. Therefore a continuous monsoon like earlier is a must or else I feel we are heading for trouble”, she said.
Dismissing any major health issues in the current scenario, Dr Shekhar Salkar said though the rainfall is mild as compared to yesteryears the temperatures are in check. “Normally at this time we would have heavy rainfall which is not the case now, but since the temperatures are also not very extreme it will not be a problem health wise”, he added.
However, he expressed concerns for the future regarding availability of water and replenishing of the groundwater table. “We are hilly area and water just rushes down, we need to think of water harvesting and similar projects so that we do not face a situation like Chennai, which is under acute water shortage”, he pointed out.
Mohan, a farmer from Sanguem taluka expressed anguish as delay in monsoon meant more energy consumption and uncertainty over the end result. He said, “Pre-monsoon showers help us in tilling the land but this year it has been bad. The other problem, without pre-monsoon showers there will be not enough moisture in the soil for the seeds to germinate.”
Hoping for a normal monsoon season ahead, he said, “So far it has been like this but from here on it should not be extreme rainfall or the way we are witnessing in some other States extreme spells with no rainfall for days and then showers for a couple of days. That will affect farming activities and then from the usual farming problems, government will have to also fight this new crisis.”
