Alert in Madhya Pradesh after water row kills girl

BHOPAL - An alert has been sounded in Madhya Pradesh after a man stabbed an 18-year-old girl to death following a row over potable water in Indore, officials said Thursday.

Punam Yadav was killed in the city, 200 km from here, Wednesday after she refused to let her neighbours draw water from a tap in her home.

The assailant, Hukam Gaud, in his early 20s, became enraged and stabbed her five times in Bakshibaug area, a police officer said. The assailant was arrested.

With the onset of summer, several areas in the state are facing an acute shortage of drinking water because of little or no rains for the third consecutive year.

Last year, after a drought-like situation in almost the whole state, most local bodies began supplying water once in two or three days.

Madhya Pradesh is again in the grip of water shortage, with some areas getting supply only once a week.

Officials estimate that nearly 70 percent of the state’s 65 million people are affected by the crisis.

Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Sagar, Ratlam, Shajapur, Datia, Neemuch, Sidhi and Khargone are some of the worst-hit districts.

The government has sanctioned Rs.89.81 lakh to 38 urban bodies in 11 districts to transport drinking water to homes.

In view of the situation, superintendents of police in all the districts have been put on alert.

“A directive regarding deployment of police force along with the tankers supplying water in different localities is being issued,” Inspector General (Law and Order) A.K. Soni told IANS.

“The superintendents of police have been asked to deploy police force in sensitive areas during supply of water,” he added.