Prepare Action Plans For Drinking Water, Power, Irrigation: Special CS

Special chief secretary and district special officer Benhur Mahesh Datt Ekka has directed officials to prepare advance action plans for supplying drinking water, electricity and irrigation water in the coming months in view of the expected increase in the impact of a super El Nino.

Stressing that drinking water must receive top priority, he asked officials to educate farmers against paddy cultivation during the Rabi season. He advised farmers in areas with limited water availability to grow maize, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables instead.

He made these remarks during a review meeting with collectors and officials of various departments from the erstwhile Karimnagar district.

Ekka said water availability in the Godavari and Krishna rivers was low and there was little scope for additional inflows. He stressed the need to use the available water judiciously.

He said groundwater levels were declining rapidly and that five to six lakh of the state’s 30 lakh agricultural borewells were already defunct.

He directed officials to prepare village-level micro action plans for the next eight months, covering drinking water requirements, irrigation water availability, groundwater conditions, power consumption, alternative crops and water conservation.

With electricity demand expected to rise in the coming months, he called for precautionary measures to ensure adequate supply.

Collectors Chitra Mishra of Karimnagar, B. Stayaprasad of Jagtial, Koya Sreeharsha of Peddapalli and Garima Agarwal of Rajanna-Sircilla, along with officials from various departments, attended the meeting.