ANANTAPUR: Cloud-seeding operations were formally launched here on Tuesday by the Minister for Rain Shadow Areas and Groundwater Development, M. Mareppa, with the inauguration of the radar station.

To mark the occasion an aircraft flew over the town several times.

However, actual seeding was not taken up till evening due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Speaking after inaugurating the radar station, the Minister said cloud-seeding would cover over 252 mandals of 10 districts where the average annual rainfall was less than 600 mm for the next 126 days. Agni Aviation, the Indian partner of Weather Modification Inc. of the US, had secured the contract for Rs. 23.6 crores.

The operations would be carried out with the help of two ground radar stations here and at Ibrahimpatnam (yet to be set up) for Anantapur, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts.

Two aircraft would be stationed at the Bangalore airport and an equal number in Hyderabad. The possibility of utilising airstrips at Cuddapah and Puttaparthi would also be explored, he said. The Anantapur radar station would study clouds in a radius of 200 km.

The State Government would consider making budgetary allocations next year if the operations yielded results this year, Mr. Mareppa said.

`Credit goes to MP'

The Minister for Agriculture, N. Raghuveera Reddy, said the credit for introducing cloud-seeding operations in the State would go to the

Anantapur MP, A. Venkatarami Reddy, as it was after his 10-day hunger strike in 2003 that the then TDP Government decided to go for the exercise.

He said the Government was considering setting up a permanent research station on cloud-seeding operations at JNTU in Hyderabad. The Centre had already been sounded out in this regard and it would become a reality soon. The Minister for Panchayat Raj, J.C. Diwakar Reddy, hoped that timely conduct of cloud-seeding might give encouraging results. The Anantapur MP urged the TDP not to mislead people on the exercise. The MLAs -- S. Sailajanath and M. Govinda Reddy -- and the district Collector, Y.V. Anuradha, were present.

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