New Delhi, May 7: The Centre on Tuesday provided an instalment of Rs 2,160 crore to Maharashtra for drought relief, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Office (CMO). Till now, the Centre has provided total Rs 4248.59 crore towards the drought mitigation measures in the state. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing the help. Maharashtra Government Declares Drought in 151 Tehsils, Check Full List.

In his official Twitter handle, Fadnavis thanked PM Modi for providing funds to the state from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). "Thank you Hon PM @narendramodi Ji for giving another instalment of ₹2160 crore towards drought mitigation measures from NDRF in the state of Maharashtra! Total assistance received so far is ₹4248.59 crore," he said. Marathas Dominated Marathwada Remains Most Underdeveloped Region of Maharashtra.

Under the criticism from the opposition over the issue of drought, the Fadnavis government in the state was recently allowed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take relief measures after it had sought a relaxation of the model code of conduct (MCC).

The drought has been intensified as water reserves across the state have plummeted to only 18.51 per cent, leading to a fourth drought since 2014. An estimated over 80 lakh farmers are affected by the drought. The situation is likely to worsen in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, where, the storage depleted to 5 and 10 per cent, respectively.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 07, 2019 11:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).