Cloud seeding hasn’t worked in past: CM

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that he didn’t have much hope of cloud seeding leading to rains and relief from drought-like conditions in the State since there had been no precedent of it succeeding in the past.

He made the comments to media persons at Sarkari Bhavan in Mysuru.

“There is no report of cloud seeding being successful anywhere. The central government will be informed after the declaration of drought. The central government will provide assistance as per NDRF (National Disaster Relief Fund) norms after verification,” Siddaramaiah said.

Cloud seeding refers to certain salts being dropped from aircrafts onto clouds to artificially induce rain. The CM added that the meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee will be held shortly and a decision regarding drought declaration will be taken.

“The Cabinet will then decide on the same,” he added.

Siddaramaiah was in Mysuru to attend a Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meeting on Monday. He will stay in the city for three days, culminating in the launch of the ‘Gruha Lakshmi Yojane’ on Wednesday.