Chairing a meeting of district officers, Deputy Commissioner Debasweta Banik directed Jal Shakti, Agriculture and Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Health, Forest, Revenue and other departments to start taking measures to deal with the situation.

Hamirpur is a rain-fed district. A rain deficit can affect water sources, drinking water schemes, agriculture, horticulture and other related activities. Banik directed the officials of the Jal Shakti Department to ensure regular cleaning of water sources and sampling-testing of water. If there is a shortage of water under any drinking water scheme, then explore the possibility of making alternate arrangements to supply water, she said.

Jal Jeevan Mission schemes under which work is in the final stage should be completed on priority so that adequate drinking water can be made available to the people, she added. Due to water scarcity, people turn to natural water bodies and therefore cleanliness of these water sources should also be ensured, the district commissioner said.

She also instructed the health department officials to conduct regular sampling-testing of water and make adequate arrangements to prevent water-borne diseases. Banik asked the Agriculture and Horticulture Department officials to assess the crop damage due to the lack of rains.