Thousands of litres of water wasted on helipad for Akhilesh Yadav in drought-hit Lalitpur

Lalitpur: At a time when several parts of Uttar Pradesh are facing severe water crisis, thousands of litres of water were used for a make-shift helipad for chief minster Akhilesh Yadav in drought-hit Lalitpur. UP chief minster landed there for reviewing drought situation in the area. Local officials used thousands of litres of water for peparing the helipad where Yadav paid a visit to review the drought and to provide relief measures. Lalitpur is part of the Bundelkhand region, which is half in Uttar Pradesh and half in Madhya Pradesh and is reeling under severe water crisis. Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the Centre of turning a blind eye to drought-hit Bundelkhand and said his government would make a separate provision in the budget for the region if needed. "Due to drought, the situation of Bundelkhand is not good but Centre has turned a blind eye towards it. It did nothing for helping poor," he told a gathering. Noting that the condition of Bundelkhand was "worse" compared to other states, he said his government would make a separate provision in the state budget, if necessary, for the region. In a similar incident, 10000 litres of water allegedly used for a make-shift helipad at a village in Maharashtra, close to the airport, where Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse landed for reviewing drought situation in parched Latur district. However, Khadse had issued a clarification saying water used for preparing the helipad was waste from filtration plant which can't be recycled for normal use.

@abpnewstv Water used for Helipad was waste from filtration plant which can't be recycled for normal use.

— Eknath Khadse (@EknathKhadseBJP) April 15, 2016

Latur is one of the worst-affected districts in Maharshtra's Marathwada region and of late two special trains carrying water were rushed to the parched city to tide over the crisis. (With input from agencies)