Change in monsoon pattern puts Wayanad farmers in a fix
The Hindu
Poor rainfall hits rice cultivation and coffee, pepper and ginger crops
This is the time when farmers in Wayanad usually start preparing for Nanja (first crop) cultivation, but many are yet to do it thanks to deficit southwest monsoon and its distribution pattern. Though the southwest monsoon was set over the district by June 3, 2021, rain started playing spoilsport by the middle of June. According to the rainfall data of the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) under the Kerala Agricultural University at Ambalavayal in the district, the total rainfall received from June 1 to July 3 was 256.4 mm, whereas, the normal rainfall expected (average of past 50 years) during the period was 383.6 mm. Hence, a deficit of 33% was observed during the period, K. Ajithkumar, Associate Director of Research, RARS, told The Hindu.Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.