Government may take up special drive if summer heat continues

With the state reeling under the sweltering summer heat, the West Bengal government today said it might take up a special drive if the situation continues.

"Districts like Purulia, both East and West Midnapore and a few places in North and South-24 Parganas have been affected by the weather. Water bodies have dried in many places. I will seek attention of Chief Minister in this matter," state Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Subrata Mukherjee today said in the Assembly.

Sources at the secretariat said that a meeting is likely be held on Tuesday.

Mukherjee said that the state required temporary tube wells in almost every part of the state and hand tube wells as well.
 

The minister also told the House that around 82 blocks in the state have been affected by arsenic contamination and the state was working on a war footing to address the situation.