VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu wants officials to strive for mitigating dry spell conditions in the state with the same spirit and attitude they showed in the successful conduct of the Krishna Pushkarams.
In a teleconference with officials here on Friday, the chief minister said the situation is no less than a disaster, but it is also an opportunity to prove oneself. He said drip irrigation facilities, pipes and tankers are available and they have to be put to effective use wherever there is need for them and ensure not a single acre of crop withers.
Stating that with effective coordination between different departments, the present dry spell can be mitigated, the chief minister said he will be monitoring the efforts in the direction from Command Control Room and will make field visits wherever and whenecer necessary. He directed the officials to reutilise the services of 4000 tankers that were used for supply of drinking water during summer. “We have to tackle the present situation like we did during cyclone and put in the same efforts we did for success of Pushkarams,” he said.
Emphasising the coordination and synergy between different departments related to agriculture and allied sectors, the chief ministers said focus should be on where the situation is severe. He said rain guns have proved successful in Prakasam and Guntur and they should be effectively used in Rayalaseema. Officials were asked to document the utilisation of rain guns, quantity of the water used for wetting, so the same can be used as reference point for the next season.
Chandrababu Naidu made it clear that responsibility of saving the standing crops is on joint collectors and revenue divisional officers and directed the officials of irrigation department and agriculture department to work in tandem in utilisation of water for irrigation. While stressing the need for adopting technology in agriculture, he said for one season, it might look difficult, but for the subsequent seasons, it will prove very helpful.