Kathmandu: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka, has directed relevant officials to come up with programmes capable of providing prompt relief to the drought-hit Madhes Province. The directive was issued during an emergency meeting of the Ministry, held in the wake of the government declaring Madhes Province a crisis-ridden zone.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Minister Khadka called for addressing the urgent needs of Madhes regarding water supply and irrigation within the next 15 days. He urged the concerned authorities to find alternatives to the lengthy paperwork and procurement processes to reach all eight districts in the drought-hit province. He emphasized the immediate need for the installation of deep boring systems, solar pumps, temporary motor sets, and pipelines.
The Cabinet meeting had declared Madhes a crisis-hit zone a few days earlier, considering the prolonged drought hitting hard the region. Present at the meeting were Ministry Secretaries Suresh Acharya and Sarita Dawadi, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya, and the Director General of the Department of Irrigation, among other top officials.