Drought has hit 33 crore people across 10 states, informs Centre
The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that nearly 33 crore people in 256 districts across 10 states have been affected by the drought. The former has also informed that out of the total amount of Rs 38,500 crore allotted under MNREGA, the Government has so far released Rs 19,555 crore in the current financial year to the drought hit states. However, per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) the drought condition prevailing in the country now, will remain maximum for 30 to 45 days post which a good south-west monsoon, with an above normal rainfall has been predicted in this year.
Pre-monsoon floods affect over 40,000 people in Assam
The pre-monsoon showers from the past one week have caused floods in Assam. Over 40,000 people have been affected and 1,000 hectares of crop land has been inundated by flood waters across the four districts of Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Sivsagar and Charaideo. The Authorities have got into action to review the flood situation while the army, National and State Disaster Response Force have been roped in for the rescue and relief operations of the marooned people in Chairaideo.
Drought situation in Maharashtra going bad to worse
Per the latest Water Resources Department data, 7 out of 11 major irrigation dams in Maharashtra have been left with no water and only 3% of water stock is available in Marathwada. Latur, which has been going through one of its water-stressed times has been supplied with a 50-wagon water train carrying 25 lakh litres of water. This has been made possible after 9 trips of the 10-wagon water train and the coordinated efforts of Indian Railways and State Government who have laid down a 3.5-km long pipeline within a record time of nine days. With the water crisis deepening further in the State, the Government is mulling plans to ban digging of borewells below 200 feet to check further depletion of groundwater.
First time in 30 years, water emergency declared in Hyderabad
The four major reservoirs that supply drinking water to Hyderabad have gone bone dry for the first time in 30 years. Residents are getting water every alternate days and the situation is far worse in the villages. Moreover, the heat wave has further aggravated the situation and created a gap of 47% between demand and supply of water in the city. For now, the Government has sanctioned Rs 60 crore for Hyderabad and Rs 70 crore for the rest of Telangana to transport water to areas where scarcity is reported.
Railways will go for automatic washing to conserve water
Considering the current drought situation in the country the Indian Railways has decided to set up automatic coach washing plants at 10 major depots to save water required for cleaning trains. The modern washing plants will have an added facility for treatment of water for reuse after cleaning the trains and platforms. The automatic plant will require only 6,000 litres to clean a rake as against the requirement of about 12,000 to 14,000 litres of water in manual cleaning. Once effective, the system will allow saving of 1,24,000 litres of water per day.
This is a roundup of important news updates from April 19 - 25, 2016. Also read last week's policy matters update.