Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday convened a high-level meeting to address concerns arising out of possible water shortage in the state over the next few months due to a high possibility of below-normal rainfall and a hot summer.
Special Monitoring in Drought-Prone Districts
During the meeting, the Chief Minister issued directives for special monitoring in 18 districts that have traditionally been affected by drought. He also ordered an assessment of the situation across the state between June 15 and July 30. If necessary, assistance from the National Disaster Response Force should be sought, while control rooms at district and state levels should remain active.
Ensuring Water Availability for Irrigation
To ensure water availability, especially for irrigation purposes, Yogi said desilting of canals, ponds, and pokharas should be completed by May 30. The soil excavated from ponds should be made available free of cost to members of the Prajapati Samaj and Kumhar artisans.
Special focus must be kept on the availability of drinking water, with arrangements to be made for alternative supply through tankers and piped water schemes. The CM directed the forest department to ensure water availability at wildlife and bird sanctuaries and cattle shelters. Alternative irrigation arrangements must be strengthened, all tube wells should be kept operational, timely repairs ensured, and uninterrupted power supply made available for irrigation, the CM said.
Crop Protection and Farmer Support
Discussing crop protection, Yogi said wide publicity should be done for subsidised seed distribution and agricultural advisory services. Under the crop insurance scheme, timely assessment and claim settlement should be ensured in the event of losses.
Kisan Credit Card holders should be given timely loans. Beneficiaries of the public distribution system should receive food grains on time, adequate storage of grains be maintained, and additional allocations be obtained from the Central government as required, Yogi said and directed officials to take strict action against hoarding and black-marketing.
Early Warning System and Volunteer Deployment
The government will make the Early Weather Warning System more effective to ensure that weather-related information reaches the public and farmers in time, he said. Directions were also given to utilise the services of more than 19,000 trained Aapda Mitras, home guards, and civil defence volunteers as and when required.
Agricultural Preparedness and Natural Farming
While reviewing agricultural preparedness, the CM said regular monitoring of fertiliser availability and maintenance of adequate buffer stocks should be carried out, and asked the cooperatives department to ensure fertiliser availability. Directions were issued to mandatorily implement the Farmer Registry system. The CM stressed the promotion of natural farming, saying it would reduce costs, promote soil quality, and conserve water.
Kharif Crop Preparations and Canal Management
Assessing preparations for the kharif crop, Yogi placed special emphasis on the effective operation of canal systems to ensure irrigation facilities reach the tail end of supply. For this, strict monitoring, accountability, and regular patrolling at the field level must be ensured. Where there is limited water availability, adopt scientific and balanced management of water, control unnecessary consumption at the head reach, and give priority to tail-end areas, he added. He also directed that silt cleaning and maintenance work on canals be completed in a time-bound manner.
