Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday directed officials to prepare comprehensive plans to tackle El Nino’s impact on drinking water, irrigation and power supply, describing it as the century’s biggest natural crisis.At a review meeting with senior officials at his Jubilee Hills residence, Reddy said the next eight months would be crucial. He called for public participation in implementing the action plan and warned that the power crisis could intensify.Reddy said govt was prepared to incur any necessary expenditure to procure electricity, but power availability in the market was scarce. He directed officials to ensure prudent use of available electricity and temporarily postpone electricity-intensive activities wherever possible.Officials were asked to assess standing crops and prevent water shortages until harvesting was completed. Reddy also sought special measures to prevent the water crisis from worsening and ensure that no water was wasted.Officials said an awareness campaign on El Nino’s impact would soon be launched through television channels, cinema halls and cultural troupes from the village to state level.With drought-like conditions prevailing in about 215 mandals, state govt has adopted an Assembly resolution asking Centre to declare them drought-affected, provide adequate financial assistance and allocate a special package of Rs 20,000 crore.Reddy directed officials to request Centre to provide an additional 50 days of employment over the standard 125 days under the VB G Ram G scheme. He said state govt was ready to facilitate the extra workdays.He also proposed setting up a war room to monitor the situation continuously and establishing a toll-free helpline.The CM also suggested setting up a ‘war room’ to continuously monitor the situation and establishing a toll-free helpline.
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