India, Oct. 15 -- The Dharashiv district administration has directed designated officers to visit drought-hit villages and stay overnight once a week to assess residents' problems firsthand and ensure timely action. The exercise will start from next week, officials said.

District collector Kirti Kiran Pujar has appointed eight district-level nodal officers, one for each taluka, and instructed them to interact directly with villagers rather than rely solely on reports submitted by local officials.

"Each taluka has been assigned a nodal officer who has been instructed to visit drought-hit villages and stay overnight once a week to assess the situation on the ground," Pujar said.

The officers have been asked to identify problems faced by ...