PM Narendra Modi meets Akhilesh Yadav to discuss Bundelkhand drought

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday to discuss the drought situation in the state's Bundelkhand region.
"We apprised PM of situation, put forth our concerns regarding drought and also crop damage due to hailstorm," Akhilesh Yadav said after the meeting.
Raising a demand of over Rs 6000 crore, Akhilesh asked the Centre to consider an additional request for Rs 1216 crore towards drought and hailstorm relief for the previous fiscal.
Raising a series of concerns over drought conditions in Bundelkhand and the rest of UP, the state government said there was an urgent need to address unemployment in the drought-hit districts, arising out of crop failure and farm crises. In this regard, the UP government asked the Centre to ramp up wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for Bundelkhand, as well as increase the mandated number of days for Bundelkhand and Vindhyachal regions to 200, up from 150.
Making an appeal to address the crises in the drought hit regions, Akhilesh said Centre should also increase wages from the current levels to Rs 300.
While the chief minister maintained that the Centres offer of water train was not discussed during the meeting, UP did reiterate its demand for 10,000 water tankers for Bundelkhand. It also said that 24 surface drinking water schemes in Bundelkhand should be given additional financial assistance by the NDA government at the Centre.
Had a productive meeting with UP CM Akhilesh Yadav on the drought situation in various parts of UP, PM Modi tweeted later.
At the meeting, PM Modi also discussed measures for conserving and storing water during the coming monsoon season and other ways of water conservation.
Chief ministers of other two drought-hit states - Maharashtra and Karnataka will also meet PM Modi later in the day to discuss the issue of water scarcity.