Minister tells officials to seek report from DMs on drought

Uttar Pradesh PWD and Irrigation Minister Shivpal Singh today directed officials of his department to seek report from district magistrates of drought-hit areas about the situation and take necessary actions.
This was said by the minister while reviewing the drought situation in the state, according to an official release.
Shivpal said all requirements should be taken into cognisance without any delay and the matter should be resolved at the government level immediately.
The minister said he should be informed about the preparations made to deal with the drought situation and added that any laxity will not be tolerated.
He said if any complaint from any affected district comes to his knowledge, the accountability of the officers of the department concerned will be fixed.

Officials informed Shivpal that 10 districts of Agra, Meerut and Gorakhpur divisions where rainfall was less than 40 per cent have been affected by drought.
Shivpal directed officials that 10-hour power supply should be there in the villages to facilitate irrigation for farming.
He said damaged transformers should be changed within 24 hours and in case a new transformer gets damaged, the accountability of the company supplying it should be fixed.