Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 3( BPNS)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah called upon the South Indian states to explore joint solutions to issues related to sharing of river water. He was speaking while chairing the 30th southern zonal council meeting of South Indian states and Union Territories here on Saturday.
Shah also called upon the South Indian Chief Ministers to tackle the drug menace that is plaguing the country in a joint manner. He called upon the states to hold regular meetings of the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) for tackling the problem of narcotics. Amit Shah said that the union home ministry had tried to crack down on the issue of narcotic trade with full focus.
During the 30th meeting of Southern zonal council, 26 issues were discussed, 9 issues resolved and 17 issues reserved for further consideration. Of these 17 issues reserved for consideration, nine were related to reorganization of Andhra Pradesh.
The Union home minister called upon Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to mutually resolve pending issues related to the bifurcation of the state. He said that there was huge potential for trade and export of marine products in the region and added that of 3461 fishing villages in the country, 1763 were in South India.
He said that QR-enabled PVC Aadhar cards have been issued to over 12 lakh fishermen. The Union Home Minister said that this would help their identification and also increase the country’s maritime security.
Amit Shah said that states should provide banking facilities within five kilometers of every village. He also called upon the Chief Ministers to persuade cooperative banks to open branches.
He said that if banks are opened in villages with good frequency, it would enable the direct transfer of government schemes directly to the beneficiaries.
