Uttar Pradesh: Farmer arrested for stealing water in drought-hit Bundelkhand

Amid growing water crisis in Bundelkhand district of Uttar Pradesh, a farmer from Mahoba village has been arrested for stealing water.

55-year-old Hiralal Yadav has been accused of damaged a valve of the Urmil Dam and diverting water towards his farmland, reported NDTV.

Gaurav Singh, Superintendent of Police of Mahoba said, "Hiralal damaged a valve of a water pipeline and stored water in a pit, using it for agriculture."

However, his family says that the valve was already damaged and that the government was covering its own inefficiency by framing Hiralal. Yadav has been booked for damaging government property, following a complaint by Joint engineer of Mahoba Jal Sansthan.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the drought and water crisis situation in the state.

"We apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the situation, put forth our concerns regarding drought and also crop damage due to hailstorm. Water is available in Bundelkhand, dam is hardly 5kms away. We just have to make arrangements for distribution of water," Yadav told the media.