Tel'gana: Cong, BJP seek comprehensive drought-relief measures

The opposition Congress and BJP today demanded that the Telangana government initiate comprehensive measures to deal with drought conditions prevailing in the state.
Telangana Congress president N Uttamkumar Reddy, who led a party delegation to Governor E S L Narasimhan seeking his intervention, alleged that the TRS government was busy with political issues rather than taking drought relief measures.
Alleging that the political executive has failed to take drought-relief measures, BJP submitted a memorandum to the Chief Secretary, stating that the bureaucracy was expected to rise to the occasion.
The main opposition Congress demanded that drought in Telangana be declared a national calamity, a party release said.

Reddy told the Governor that severe heat conditions have been prevailing in Telangana, resulting in unprecedented drought conditions.
There is severe drinking water shortage and the number of deaths due to sunstroke are rising day by day, he alleged.

Cattle is being led to slaughter houses due to severe shortage of fodder and grass in rural areas, he said.
Work under the NRGES is not being conducted and even previous wages under the scheme are not paid, Reddy alleged.
The Governor promised to take appropriate measures after obtaining information from the government, he said.
Meanwhile, Telangana unit BJP president and MLA K Laxman

submitted a memorandum to Chief Secretary Rajeev Sharma on the drought conditions.
"You are aware and newspapers also widely reported that more than 243 people lost lives due to heat waves so far. While the situation warrants emergency measures, the Chief Minister and his ministers are holding party plenary. Though it is the right of a political party to hold its meetings, what surprises everyone is the timing," the memorandum said.
"More than 360 mandals are reeling under drought but the government has declared only 231 as the drought-hit areas. Till date neither the Chief Minister nor the ministers visited individual mandals to take stock of the situation.

"The central government has released Rs 791 crore towards drought relief which the state could very well use to undertake relief works but nothing is happening on the ground," it said.
The BJP demanded that drinking water be provided to all drought-hit villages, fodder supplied for livestock and relief works monitored continuously.
The state government has declared 231 mandals as drought-hit.
On April 19, the then Telangana Panchayat Raj Minister K T Rama Rao (his portfolios was later changed) had made a presentation to visiting Union Ministers, Chaudhry Birender Singh and Ramkripal Yadav, on the drought conditions.
The Centre had only sanctioned Rs 719 crore though Rs 3,064 crore was sought towards drought relief measures, Rao had pointed out.

He also told the ministers that only Rs 72 crore was given to the state, though Rs 555 crore was requested for drinking water needs, according to an official release.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is scheduled to hold a review meet with district collectors on drought conditions on April 29 here, an official release earlier said.