Bhopal: Amid a weak monsoon in Madhya Pradesh, residents in Bhopal fed gulab jamuns to donkeys on Saturday as part of an unusual ritual intended to invoke the rain god Indra and seek rainfall. The ceremony was held near Kolar Road, with participants saying the tradition was performed to appease the deity associated with rain.
The ritual comes as official data show that 35 districts across Madhya Pradesh have received below-normal rainfall so far this monsoon season. The rainfall deficit has raised concerns in several parts of the state.
However, Bhopal has bucked the trend. According to senior meteorologist S.N. Sahu of the India Meteorological Department's Bhopal office, the city has received 400.3 mm of rainfall during the current monsoon season, around 44 per cent above its normal average. He also indicated that rainfall is expected to intensify across Madhya Pradesh from Sunday.
The districts reported to have received deficient rainfall are Chhindwara, Damoh, Dindori, Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Mandla, Mauganj, Narsinghpur, Pandhurna, Panna, Rewa, Sagar, Satna, Seoni, Shahdol, Sidhi, Singrauli, Tikamgarh, Umaria, Alirajpur, Barwani, Betul, Datia, Dhar, Jhabua, Morena, Narmadapuram, Raisen, Sheopur, Shivpuri, Anuppur, Balaghat, Chhatarpur and Vidisha.