Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged the Prime Minister to provide diesel and power subsidy to farmers in Gujarat to help them save their withering kharif crops. The state faces a long dry spell this monsoon.
He was speaking at a meeting of all chief ministers convened by Manmohan Singh in New Delhi to review the drought situation across the country.
Narendra Modi said Gujarat was facing a dry spell for more than three weeks, which will compel farmers to use diesel sets for watering their standing crops. This will also increase the demand for electricity in the farm sector.
The CM suggested that the Centre should encourage grass production in the areas having deficit rainfall every monsoon. This would help maintain the supply of fodder to the cattle breeders. Modi also recommended linking of rivers to prevent recurrence of such drought-like situation, and demanded that the Centre provide funds for the proposed river linking projects like Tapti-Damanganga in Gujarat
