File Photo: NCP chief Sharad Pawar with PM Narendra Modi (Press Trust of India)
Former union minister Sharad Pawar today said he will seek a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impress upon him the seriousness of drinking water scarcity and drought situation in Maharashtra.
Mr Pawar, who recently toured drought-affected Marathwada region of the parched state, told reporters that "the drought and drinking water situation in the state is serious and could even lead to a law and order problem". He alleged that state government's measures to deal with it looked inadequate.
"The measures announced by the government through its government resolutions do not cover the entire range of problems such as provision of free fodder and camps for the starving cattle," he added.
Stating that Mr Modi had the experience of tackling drought situation in the regions like Kutch in Gujarat, Mr Pawar said his intervention and Centre's financial assistance could help in easing the gravity of situation in Maharashtra which has received deficient rainfall in the catchment areas of the dams, leading to "unprecedented" hardships to people.
The former Union Agriculture Minister refuted the criticism that his visit to drought-hit region amounted to "drought tourism" aimed at deriving political mileage.
"We are not politicising the situation but the party will have to take to street to highlight the problems of people if the government failed to take the right policy decisions to tackle the severity of the drought," he said.
To a question, the NCP chief said he will try to forge unity between partners of 'Maha Gatbandhan' in Bihar in the wake of SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav walking out of the proposed grand alliance involving the JD(U) and RJD.
"I will attempt to bring all together at a meeting in Delhi on September 22. However I do not know what will be the outcome," he said.