Bihar may face water crisis from January-February next year as 275 of 540 blocks have been declared drought-hit, worried chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday but said the government is charting out a plan to fight it.
Speaking at the 11th foundation day of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, he said the government will ensure supply of drinking water to villages and mark water bodies for availability when the groundwater table plummets.
The chief minister is the authority’s chairman.
The groundwater level is going down, so there could be scarcity of drinking water from January-February,” Nitish said.
“I have asked my officials to ensure drinking water for the people.
I am regularly reviewing the situation on my level.” Minister for disaster management Dinesh Chandra Yadav, disaster management authority vice-chairman Vyasji and member P.N.
Speaking on the drought situation in the state, Nitish pointed out that cattle suffer because of water scarcity and the government was making efforts there too.
“In case of water scarcity, people with no resources leave their cattle behind.
We have identified big ponds where water will be available by use of solar pumps.
Special camps will be set up near the ponds for cattle.

Share Patna, Jul 22 (UNI) Apprehending drought in Bihar in this monsoon season as the state received only 48 per cent of normal rainfall so far, a number of decisions have been taken in a high level review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to provide relief to farmers.
During the meeting he directed officials concerned to give top prioritise relief to farmers who were facing lot of difficulties due to scanty rainfall in the state.
A number of decisions to insulate farmers from the shock of droughts had also been taken in the meeting which would go a long way in mitigating their sufferings.
Decisions taken in the meeting included revision of diesel subsidy and providing power for longer duration in rural areas for agrarian works.
State chief secretary Deepak Kumar and principal secretary of disaster management department Pratyay Amrit told media persons after the meeting that a number of preventive measures had been taken and guidelines were issued to officials to provide relief to farmers who could face difficulties in drought which appeared to be strong possibility following scanty rainfall in Bihar so far in this monsoon season.

Gaya: An estimated 60 per cent of the nearly 70,000 registered holdings under Gaya Municipal Corporation do not have access to tap water, said Lalji Prasad, a former member of the corporation’s standing committee.
Water comes last on the priority list of the municipal body, Prasad added.
The town population, as on date, is estimated to be nearly 6 lakh.
As per the 2011 census figures, the town’s population was 4.7 lakh.
When The Telegraph asked municipal commissioner Janardan Agrawal on the veracity of Prasad’s claims, he said the figures were not readily available with him and work was in progress to execute chief minister Nitish Kumar’s promise of drinking water to all households.
"A couple of years back, Patna High Court had directed the Gaya Municipal Corporation to prepare a detailed plan for providing tap water to all the residents of the town and submit it to the state government for approval," said RTI activist Brajnandan Pathak, the petitioner of a PIL filed on the issue two years back.
The direction was given by a bench comprising Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh.
Agreeing with Prasad’s estimate, Pathak said most of the colonies that came up during the past five decades, including Shastrinagar, New Karimganj, Magadh Colony and Nagmatia Colony, do not have access to tap water.
Deprived of municipal water supply, the residents have to depend on private sources like tube wells and submersible pumps to lift ground water for use.
On account of irregular rain and excessive withdrawal, the ground water level too has registered a sharp fall.