Patna, June 24: Monsoon arrived in Patna two days back but, according to the Met department, residents will have to wait for 2-3 days for the rain.

Patna has received not more than an hour of rain, leading to doubts that the monsoon might have weakened in central and western Bihar.

Last year, too, the monsoon had weakened in Bihar in June itself as the trough line had gone down towards south i.e. towards Odisha.

But a few districts in north Bihar that border Nepal and Kishanganj and Katihar, which border Bengal, received scattered rain, a phenomenon not ruled out this year either.

In its monsoon prediction in April, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said Bihar was likely to receive 96% (+/-5 per cent) rain this year. But IMD data for the period from June 1 to June 23 shows rainfall departure in the state was -28 per cent.

The state received only 77.3mm of rain when it was expected to get 106.8mm.

Anand Shankar, a senior scientist at the Patna Met department, denied the monsoon has weakened. "There is every chance of rain occurring in the next 48-72 hours, as there has been onset of monsoon on the Gujarat coast, which will bring rain to Bihar," Anand said.

The IMD, too, claims the monsoon has again become active along the western coast, with the offshore trough once again becoming more marked. It can now be seen extending from South Gujarat to Kerala.

Meanwhile, the northern limit of monsoon (NLM) now extends till Dwarka, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Khandwa, Betul, Mandla and Patna. IMD sources said favourable conditions are developing again for further advance of the southwest monsoon into remaining parts of Bihar and some parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh in the next 2-3 days. "The upper air cyclonic circulation over north Bay of Bengal and the neighbourhood persists," Shankar said. "Under the influence of this system, a low pressure area is likely to form over northwest Bay of Bengal and the neighbourhood in the next 48 hours. This will bring rain to Bihar."

The absence of rain in this paddy transplantation season is leaving farmers a worried lot. "The time of sowing is very important. Not just early, even late sowing can spoil a crop, as a deluge at the wrong time could harm the seed," said Bhola Prasad, a famer in Patepur block of Vaishali district. "This could affect crop yield."