Central team meets minister Patil, assures aid to tackle drought in Karnataka
Image courtesy: PIB: Secretary of Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Parameswaran Iyer meeting the Karnataka Minister of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, HK. Patil (third from left) in Bengaluru on 19 April, 2016.
As several parts of the country continue to struggle with acute scarcity of drinking water, a team of high officials from the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation on Tuesday visited Karnataka and assured the state help to tackle drought, water crisis and the sanitation situation.
The central team, led by the secretary of the union drinking water and sanitation Parameswaran Iyer, assured the Karnataka government all support from the Centre to combat the drought situation prevalent in parts of the state.
The team met with Karnataka’s minister for rural development and panchayati raj HK Patil and other key officials including the state’s chief secretary and district collectors in Bengaluru.
Patil, who had recently visited Delhi regarding the matter, had sought a budgetary support of Rs 45,000 crores from the Centre to tackle drinking water scarcity and sanitation crisis in rural Karnataka.
Iyer, during a review meeting with the Karnataka government officials and district collectors via video conference, assured the Centre’s support. The sate officials also promised Iyer to make seven districts in the state Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 2016-17.
