New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, June 5 (IANS) The annual southwest monsoon, crucial for agriculture, Tuesday hit Kerala, four days behind schedule, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

'The monsoon has hit Kerala and it has covered the entire state bringing showers and relief to framers,' IMD director general L.S. Rathore told IANS.

He said the monsoon was expected to progress further to the country's northeast and coastal Goa by Wednesday.

'It has reached right up to the Bay of Bengal,' he said.

Rathore said there was nothing to be panic over the monsoon delay.