KOLLAM: With Kerala facing a threat of the worst-ever drought this year, the state government is planning to kick-start a massive anti-drought campaign.
The state was declared drought-hit in October 2016. The gravity of drought is such that it’s the worst one to have hit the state in 115 years.
As part of it, starting February 1, the chief minister, revenue minister and the chief secretary will become the ‘star campaigners’ of drought awareness programmes.
The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), which is chalking out the awareness campaign, plans to use the voices of the three campaigners as they address the public from various FM radio stations.
“The two-point agenda of the campaign is ‘Respect Water. Reduce Drought.’ The problem with the state is that we are yet to understand the need for conserving water. Considering the severity of the drought, it is high time that people are sensitised on the issue and water-conservation activities.
As part of the campaign, we will reach out to the people through FM channels, cinema theatres, KSRTC buses, print and electronic media. For the purpose, we have already got an amount of `83.58 lakh from the government,” said Sekhar L Kuriakose, member secretary, SDMA. According to him, the voices of the chief minister, revenue minister and the chief secretary will be used as jingles in the FM channels as they would stress upon the need to protect water resources and its use judiciously.
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