India News | Haryana Irrigation Minister Holds Meeting to Take Stock of 'water Crisis'
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Shruti Choudhry held a meeting with senior officials of the department on Tuesday to take stock of the "water crisis" in the state.
Chandigarh, May 6 (PTI) Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Shruti Choudhry held a meeting with senior officials of the department on Tuesday to take stock of the "water crisis" in the state.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Anurag Agarwal and Chief Engineer Rakesh Chauhan, among others.
Choudhry sought reports from district-level irrigation officers via video-conferencing and conducted a review with senior officers on how to tackle the situation.
The people of Haryana should not suffer because Punjab is stubborn about not sharing water with the state, she told the officials.
Amid a standoff between the two neighbouring states over the distribution of water from Bhakra dam, Punjab has maintained that "not a single drop will be given from the state's share to Haryana".
The Punjab Assembly also passed a resolution in this regard on Monday.
The resolution stated that while 4,000 cusecs of water being given to Haryana for drinking purposes will continue on humanitarian grounds, not a drop more will be given, notwithstanding the Bhakra Beas Management Board's decision to allocate an additional 4,500 cusecs to the BJP-ruled state.
Haryana minister Choudhry on Tuesday directed district-level officers to fill water bodies and ponds from the canals.
She said the public should not face inconveniences "during this water crisis" and hence efforts should be made to fill water bodies from available sources wherever possible, according to an official statement.
Choudhry also advised the district-level officers to appeal to the public to use discretion and avoid water wastage, especially during summer. This will help raise awareness about water conservation and aid in overcoming the difficult circumstance, the statement quoted her as saying.
The irrigation minister also directed the senior officials to keep a close watch on the situation in every district and monitor water usage.
Further, she gave necessary directions in view of the upcoming monsoon and said that all flood control preparations should be completed by June-end.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)