Bhopal: In an unprecedented move, the Madhya Pradesh government on Friday alerted all the district superintendents of police to be vigilant about law and order situation in their respective areas, as reports of a ‘water war’ poured in from several parts of the state.
The state home department here has directed the SPs in all the 52 districts in the state to guard all water sources in their respective areas by deploying adequate police forces there to prevent clashes over water by the local people, a senior officer in the department told this newspaper.
The directive comes in the wake of people being found hitting the streets in several parts of the state demanding supply of water from their respective municipal bodies.
The water crisis in Powai village in Panna district on Wednesday has escalated into a water war involving members of one family leading to injuries to seven people.
The village of Chhapparin in the same district has been completely deserted by its inhabitants as the two tube wells and ponds in the area have dried up.
“We have directed the municipal bodies in the state to ensure water supply to the local people by tapping nearby water sources,” state urban development minister Jaivardhan Singh told reporters here on Friday.
Blistering heatwave conditions prevailing in the state for the past two weeks have led to drying up of rivers and other water bodies in several parts of Madhya Pradesh, causing acute water crisis.
Temperatures have been hovering around 45-47 degrees Celsius in at least a dozen of the 52 districts in the state for the past one week, and the state health department has issued an advisory to people in these areas to guard against exposure to the heat.
