Telangana Govt to identify drought-hit mandals by Oct 31; 358 provisionally listed

Hyderabad, Oct 23 (UNI) The Telangana government has decided to prepare comprehensive, department-wise action plans to tackle the anticipated drought due to El Niño, with priority to drinking water, irrigation, uninterrupted power supply, farmer support and rural employment. The decision was taken at the first meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka at the Secretariat on Friday. The committee resolved to identify and declare drought-affected mandals by October 31 and convene an all-party meeting soon to discuss the prevailing situation. Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju said preliminary assessments had identified 358 mandals as potentially drought-affected,…