Bengaluru, July 22 -- Karnataka on Wednesday stepped up pressure on the Centre over the worsening drought situation, with Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara describing the crisis as "extremely serious" and urging the union Government to declare it a calamity of national significance while providing immediate relief to affected states.
Warning that drought conditions were rapidly intensifying across large parts of the state, Parameshwara said Karnataka had already sought Central assistance and requested relaxation of the existing norms for declaring drought, but was yet to receive any response.
"The situation is extremely serious. Signs of drought are emerging on a large scale. The Chief Minister and I have written to the Prime Minister ...