CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan declares 13 districts in Madhya Pradesh as drought-hit

Apart from 13 districts, 12 tehsils from other districts have also been declared drought affected.

Updated on: Oct 11, 2017, 23:50:33 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Neeraj Santoshi

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Thirteen districts in Madhya Pradesh have been declared drought-hit this year. These include Sidhi, Vidisha, Indore, Panna, Sagar, Satna, Shivpuri, Tikamgarh, Bhind, Ashohnagar, Damoh, Chhatarpur and Gwalior.

A villager walks between rocks as he crosses a water reservoir in Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh. (AFP File Photo)

Rajesh Rajora, principal secretary, agriculture department, told HT that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made this announcement in Bhopal on Wednesday.

Rajora said the state government will continue to collect data from the tehsils from five to six central agencies and accordingly review the list of the drought-hit areas in the next meeting of the drought monitoring committee.

“We have to send the complete list of the drought-hit areas to the Central government by October 30,” he said.

Apart from 13 districts, 12 tehsils from other districts have also been declared drought affected, he said.

State government has been worried over the scanty rainfall this year. In the Krishi cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan last month, he directed officials to prepare short term emergency schemes for areas being affected by scanty rainfall as well as no rainfall.

Chouhan stressed that proper arrangements should be made for water storage after assessing the water requirement for irrigation and drinking.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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