WATER LEVEL DIPS TO 22% IN BIG DAMS

Even as Opposition parties are gearing up to raise the issue of drought in a big way in Parliament in the second half of the Budget session beginning Monday, there is more bad news.

It is learnt that the water level in 91 major reservoirs across the country has dipped to 22 per cent of their total capacity. These levels are 35 per cent less than the stock available in the corresponding period last year and 24 per cent less than the 10-year average storage levels for the same period, the Water Resource ministry said.

Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala have reported lower levels of water in their reservoirs.

Only two states -- Andhra Pradesh and Tripura -- have

reported better storage. West Bengal has reported the same storage. The thrust of the Opposition charge in Parliament is expected to be that the Centre has no "serious" plan in place to tackle drought. Some of the parties have already demanded that the government should convene an all-party meeting to discuss the calamity and figure out ways to combat it. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav recently accused the Centre of turning a blind eye to drought-hit Bundelkhand. The charges are expected to fly thick and fast with the state Assembly election round the corner. Amid criticism of the government on the drought and potable water front, Rural Development Minister Birender Singh has lamented that over Rs 1,500 crore Central funds are lying unspent in states, which could have been used to mitigate the drinking water crisis in the parched areas. Drought in the past has played havoc with prices of agriculture produce. Input PTI