Surinder Sud / Mumbai September 5, 2008, 3:13 IST The delay in the withdrawal of the monsoon is expected to benefit crops in the current kharif as well as in the ensuing rabi season. However, the projected increase in the intensity of rains in the north-eastern states may heighten the threat of floods in the Brahmaputra and other rivers, adversely affecting the standing crops. Rehabilitation of agriculture in the vast tracts ravaged by the Kosi river in Bihar is anticipated to take a long time as farm operations cannot begin for at least a month after the flood waters clear out. The good news is that the area under rice, the main kharif food crop, as well as oilseeds have already surged significantly ahead of last year