The state government has been asked by the court to detail the steps it intends to take to address the grave issue of drought in the state, which has the potential to turn into a calamity given that weathermen have predicted a below-normal monsoon in the country this year. A Bombay High Court bench was hearing a petition seeking to institute disaster management committees in each district of the state. The petitioner, Sanjay Lakhe Patil, sought for implementation of the 2016 disaster management guidelines which list the measures the state government has to undertake to tackle natural disasters including drought. When the petition was heard by Justices Ajey Gadkari and N J Jamadar on Monday, Patil produced records before the court to show that water levels in dams and other resources had gone down in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. "The issue is serious. We want some lawyer from the state government to inform us what measures the government proposes to take (to tackle the issue)," the court said. The next hearing is on May 20. —Inputs from PTI

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