THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has decided to declare nine districts as drought hit. The decision has been taken keeping in view of the
shortage of surface water and ground water in these regions.
A meeting of the state disaster management authority was convened under the chairmanship of chief minister
Pinarayi Vijayan to review the
drought situation. In the meeting, the reports from the nine districts facing acute shortage of
drinking water, were presented.
Alappuzha, Kannur, Idukki, Kasaragod, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Wayanad are the nine districts, which have been declared as drought hit. Specific instructions have been given to the disaster relief commissioner to take steps for effective management and responsiveness to minimize the impact of the drought.
At the meeting it was observed that the districts declared drought hit have been facing severe shortage of rain water, surface water and ground water. Moreover, the level of salt water in these districts has been rising.
“The main concern was the acute shortage of drinking water, for which specific instructions have been given to tackle the situation,’’ said
Sekhar Kuriakose, member secretary of disaster management authority.
He said adequate funds would be provided for the local bodies for providing the supply of drinking water. Already, the government has sanctioned funds for drinking water supply to the local bodies. If it turns out to be insufficient, the authority would sanction additional funds.
The national meteorological department had already issued a warning on possible drinking water shortages in these nine districts due to the rain shortfall in 2017. The department had reported that the north-east monsoon was considerably weak in these districts.
In the case of Idukki, it does not face a drought situation presently but things could turn worse due to the shortage of water in the water bodies in hilly areas.
The authorities have warned of a possible shortage in drinking water if the situation worsens. Hence, the disaster management authority decided to include the district also in the list.
