Kerala offers 20 lakh litres drinking water, TN rejects it
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 20: The Kerala government Thursday expressed willingness to provide 20 lakh litres drinking water to Tamil Nadu, which is facing a water crisis, but the latter has declined it, saying there was "no need for the help at present."
"Since the major water bodies of Chennai has been facing acute water shortage, the Kerala government decided to extend an helping hand," a release issued from the Kerala Chief Minister's office said.
Though chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's office contacted the Tamil Nadu CMO on the offer, the neighbouring state informed that "at present there is no need for the help, it said.
Kerala was prepared to transport 20 lakh litres of drinking water from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai through train, the release added.
Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration minister S P Velumani told reporters in Coimbatore in that deficiencies in some groundwater conservation projects were identified at various places, including Chennai, and were being attended to.
He said Tamil Nadu was facing the worst-ever drought.
Rains were expected in a few days, he said.
As far as Chennai was concerned, he said there was depletion of ground water as the city had witnessed rains 190 days ago.
Water was being supplied through lorries and borewells are being dug wherever the water problem prevails, he added.
The Tamil Nadu government has said it was largely dependent on groundwater to meet requirements till the onset of northeast monsoon in October.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami has said drought and deficient monsoon had resulted in depletion of groundwater levels, but claimed the issue was not as big as was being made out, especially in the media.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
