Govt gears up to tackle drought

Fearing drought this summer, the state Government is gearing up to provide drinking water to the people. It has issued directives to officials to prepare effective action plan to ensure water in rural as well as in urban areas.

The directives have been issued by Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan, who has asked all divisional commissioners and district magistrates to gear up for drought-like situation which may create water scarcity.“In the urban areas, the nagar nigams, Jal Sansthan and Jal Nigam should work in tandem to provide drinking water in all localities.  Hand pumps, tube wells and water pipelines should be repaired. And where there is scarcity of water, tankers should be pushed into service,” the directive says.

The Chief Secretary has also stressed on setting up control rooms at all district headquarters and publicising the telephone number and e-mail address of the control room among the people.“In urban areas, the water bodies should be cleaned up and filled with water so that animals may get drinking water. If there is scarcity of water in cities, the Irrigation Department should provide water. All the overhead tanks in cities should be cleaned within a week and the report should be sent to his office,” Ranjan has said in the directive.The district administrations of Bundelkhand  and Vindhyachal zones have been particularly asked to ensure availability of water at any cost. In far flung areas, water is to be made available through water tankers.

“The district magistrates should carry out inspections of rural and urban areas and ensure availability of water in each locality. The divisional commissioner should hold meetings with DMs, nagar nigam officials and officers of other departments to ensure availability of water during this summer,” the directive says.