The Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh has rejected the Centre’s offer to send water to the drought-hit regions of Bundelkhand. The state was not facing a scarcity of water as severe as that in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region. The Railway Ministry had offered to send water via a train to Bundelkhand’s Mahoba district, The Times of India quoted railways officials as saying.

“The ministry made us the offer, but we told them that the current situation does not merit the interventions that were needed in Marathwada. We asked them to supply water when we raise a demand,” the principal secretary (revenue) of the state government, Suresh Chandra, said, referring to the trains sent with water to Latur in Marathwada.

Moreover, the government also claimed it was prepared to face the water scarcity in Bundelkhand. It said tankers were made available to supply water at several panchayats in the region, and that most hand pumps there were in working condition, while the broken ones were being fixed by the state.