In view of scanty rainfall,Uttar Pradesh government has decided to declare 20 districts in the state as drought-hit,official sources said on Saturday. At a high level meeting presided over by Chief Secretary A K Gupta on Friday,officials reviewed the prevailing situation in the state following weak monsoon and decided to declare at least 20 of the 71 districts in the state as drought-hit. A formal announcement to this effect is likely to be made later on Saturday,they said. The districts which have been identified as drought-hit are Deoria,Ambedkarnagar,Jaunpur,Mau,Unnao,Ballia,Sant Kabirnagar,Basti,Hardoi,Sultanpur,Fatehpur,Rai Barely,Ghazipur,Kannauj,Bareilly,Manpuri,Farrukhabad,Kanpur Dehat,Kanshiramnagar and Hathras. The Chief Secretary has also sought a fresh assessment report from all districts for updating an action plan for drought management.
