Patna, July 8: Cyclone Aila that wreaked havoc in Bengal has also left its mark on Bihar causing a fortnight delay in the arrival of monsoon, said weather experts.

Director of Patna Meteorological Office A. Chandra said: “Aila disturbed the monsoon’s course leading to a fortnight-long delay in the state.”

The delayed rain and the trickle that followed damaged Kharif crops, with farmers, in large parts of the state, failing to grow the paddy saplings properly.

A year after the devastation of the floods displacing over 30 lakh north Bihar farmers, the spectre of a draught looms large over the state.

Majority of the northern and southern districts of Bihar has registered a 52 per cent decrease in the rainfall.

A Chandra said, till July 7, the state recorded 118.21mm of rainfall against the usual of 246.50mm it had recorded till the first week of July in the past.

Weather experts describe Purnea district in Kosi region as the only exception that recorded 378.80mm of rainfall against 340.50mm expected by this time in the district.

Agriculture experts say that if the draught-like situation lasts for more than a week, the state will register a sharp fall in the paddy yield.

Then the state government will have to deal with draught victims, even before it could recover from the Kosi flood devastation.

“The state’s farmers will be able to carry out paddy farming on 30 lakh hectares as against the stipulated 36 lakh hectares due to the delayed arrival of monsoon. The area for paddy farming may dwindle further if the monsoon gets more delayed,” said an expert in the agriculture department.

Similarly, the production of lentil and maize, too, is likely to suffer.

To the relief of the farmers, the state has been witnessing sporadic rains in all its districts for the past three days.

However, now Bihar needs vigorous spells of monsoon to control the damage, said a weatherman, hoping that Bihar would get substantial rains in the next three to four days. But, reports coming in from the Met office warned that the possibility of rain in the next few days was weak to none in the state.