2.57 million Chinese affected by drought

Beijing, Jan 31 (ANI): Around 2.57 million people and 77.4 million mu (5.16 million acres) of crops have reportedly been affected by the ongoing drought in China.

The Xinhua news agency quoted Chen Lei, deputy head of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH), as saying that there is a need for the local governments to make efforts to monitor the drought conditions, speed up the building of water projects, increase drought-fighting material reserves and grant subsidies to the drought-stricken population.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast that drought might get worst in the coming two months, and added that regions covering the Yellow and Huaihe rivers would receive little rain or snow in February and March.

Stressing the importance of drought relief efforts, Chen, who is also minister of water resources, ensured to provide safe drinking water for boosting consumers' confidence, controlling consumer prices and inflation and maintaining economic growth.

Since last Autumn when the drought began, local authorities have reportedly assigned 9.55 million people and 2.15 million sets of drought-fighting machineries to draw 8.2 billion cubic meters of water to irrigate 110 million mu of crop land. (ANI)