Shillong, May 5 (IANS): Amid the ongoing dry spell in Meghalaya which has created water shortages in various places of the state, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Saturday visited the Um Jasai catchment area in Shillong.

Sangma had earlier chaired a series of meetings to understand the water scarcity problem, and then he visited the Um Jasai catchment area with officials from various government departments, including Meghalaya Basin Development Authority.

Meghalaya generally receives adequate rainfall. However, this time, the prolonged dry season has led to water shortages in Shillong and other places.

"The government has taken a number of interventions to rejuvenate the streams, springs, and rivers in the last year," Sangma stated.

He also mentioned that the state is working on a number of projects to guarantee access to drinking water.

In addition to large-scale water supply infrastructure projects, the government has made catchment area preservation and protection a top priority.

"We should use various interventions, like rainwater harvesting and replenishing groundwater tables, to rejuvenate the state's various water bodies and store the water as much as possible," he stated.

The Chief Minister said: "Many streams throughout the state have extremely little water intake. The government has carried out research and surveys and has started taking action to revitalise and improve the entire situation."

Sangma further said that several check dams are being built in key sites to store water.

"To make things better overall, the government has also started to implement mitigating measures. Despite the difficult times we are facing, we should be able to improve the overall situation in the coming years," he added.