Reeling under drought conditions for the past many years, Maharashtra’s Latur will be visited by a Central fact-finding committee to study the water crises and look for solutions.
Union water resources minister Uma Bharti on Saturday said that in view of daily reports about the severe situation in the district, the ministry had decided to send a team and find ways to tackle the issues.
“We are hearing about the tense situation in Latur every day. I have asked our secretary to get a fact-finding report from there,” she said, adding, “Be it the issue related to drinking water (which is a state subject), it is possible the reservoirs providing drinking water there come under our purview and we can intervene and figure out a solution.”
The Central Water Commission Committee is likely to visit the district next week, she said while briefing media persons about the upcoming “India Water Week.” She said the government is “prepared to face a drought” situation and is focusing on completing irrigation projects in a time-bound manner to address water issues.
The intervention by the ministry comes in the wake of the railway ministry’s decision to transport water to the drought-affected district during the summer.
