Saving standing crops, supplying drinking water would be priority : Sanjay Jaju

Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju said saving standing Vanakalam crops and ensuring drinking water supply were government priorities. After reviewing Singur reservoir levels, he called for coordinated action, citing poor monsoon rainfall, rising temperatures and sharply declining groundwater levels

Sangareddy: Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju said saving standing crops during the Vanakalam season and ensuring the supply of drinking water would be priorities for the government.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting water levels at the Singur reservoir on Thursday, the Chief Secretary directed officials to make a collective effort to save standing crops, which would be ready for harvest in a fortnight.

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While walking across the dam, Jaju interacted with officials from the Irrigation, Mission Bhagiratha, Agriculture and other departments and took stock of the situation.

Stating that El Niño had seriously affected the State this year, Jaju said a collective effort was needed to overcome the situation. Due to poor rainfall during the southwest monsoon, he said temperatures had also risen by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius this year.

Even if Transco supplied power for additional hours during the upcoming Yasangi season, Jaju observed that farmers might not find enough water in borewells because groundwater levels had depleted drastically compared with previous years.

The Chief Secretary said the issue would be discussed at the State Cabinet meeting on Thursday. He added that the government would appoint a nodal officer to help officials tackle the drought effectively.

Jaju said the government would also augment drinking water supplies by hiring or drilling borewells wherever necessary. However, he said the situation in Sangareddy was relatively better than in other districts.

He said the effects of El Niño were expected to continue in the State until February.

Collector Prateek Jain, Superintendent of Police Paritosh Pankaj, Narayankhed MLA Patlolla Sanjeeva Reddy and Narayankhed Sub-Collector Umaharathi were present.