CPI demands Bundelkhand be declared drought-affected

Lucknow, Jun 20 (UNI) Even as few spells of showers in the ongoing monsoon season were being considered ''a ray of hope'' in the impoverished Bundelkhand region, the Communist Party of India (CPI) today met Governor T V Rajeswar and demanded that the region should be declared as ''drought-affected.'' The CPI handed over a memorandum to Mr Rajeswar, asking ''what can a few spells of rain do for a region, which is reeling under drought for the last seven years?'' A lot more needed to be done for the region as the present programmes of both the Central and the state governments were ''insufficient,'' the memo stated.

Complaining about the shooting inflation, which this week reached its 13-year high at 11.05 per cent, the party demanded its immediate control as it was hitting the poor denizens of the drought- affected area the most.

The Centres National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), that could prove beneficial for Bundelkhand, was victim of corruption in UP. Hence, the CPI urges the Governor to look into the matter and punish the guilty, the memorandum said.

Taking note of the grim situation, the government should assure jobs to the unemployed in the region and pay them Rs 150 daily, it added.

The government should also effectively tackle potable water crisis and provide loans to farmers at the rate of 4 per cent, the CPI asked.

UNI JAS SKB HT1400