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The Hindu
The Hindu
National
The Hindu Bureau

As rains failed, Varuna Mitra registers spike in calls from farmers

Deficit Central Karnataka

The southwest monsoon, which fuels agricultural activities in the State and ended with a deficit of 28% this year, has left farmers anxious.

Data submitted to the Central team, which is in Karnataka, to assess the drought situation show that the number of calls to the helpdesk in the kharif season increased to 11.68 lakh in 2023 from 9.14 lakh in 2022, an increase of 27.7%.

Varuna Mitra, the 24/7 interactive helpdesk set up to provide information on rainfall forecast and other weather parameters, received a record 3.08 lakh calls in June when the entry of southwest monsoon was delayed. The app received 2.68 lakh calls in June 2022.

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