Jharkhand declared as drought-hit State

Ranchi, Aug 2 (ANI): The Jharkhand Government has declared the entire State as drought-hit due to inadequate rainfall that it has received in the last two months.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Advisory Council of the Governor, which was chaired by G Krishnan, adviser to Governor K. Sankaranarayanan, on Saturday.

Earlier, the Council had declared 11 of the 24 districts as drought-hit.

Following the severe drought, the Government has also decided to distribute free of cost grains to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, besides setting up of grain godowns at district and block headquarters.

According to a Raj Bhavan release, it's been decided to allot 12,500 new ration shops in order to expedite the relief measures to BPL women and self-help groups and the government has also approved Rs 11.19 crore for the execution of these welfare measures.

Jharkhand is presently under Governor rule. (ANI)