Haridwar, May 1 (PTI): Farmers are a priority for the Yogi Adityanath government while butchers were a priority for his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav, an Uttar Pradesh Minister has said. Accusing the Akhilesh Yadav government of doing nothing for farmers, Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Minister Dharmapal Singh told reporters here yesterday that it only worked to safeguard the interests of butchers by not shutting down abattoirs being run illegally.

"Farmers are a priority for the Yogi government while butchers were the sole priority of the previous government," Singh told reporters after holding discussions on transfer of irrigation assets between UP and Uttarakhand with state irrigation department officials here.

Describing the two states as brothers, he said the transfer of assets between them, an issue hanging fire ever since Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000, was going to be a smooth affair. With UP giving 37 canals to Uttarakhand and the latter transferring 8 to UP recently the matter is almost sorted out.

Still if there are some issues they will be settled amicably, Singh said, adding there is willingness on part of governments of both states to settle pending issues between them amicably and fast. He also said that steps are being taken to ensure that industrial waste is not released into the river and its banks are kept free from all sorts of encroachment.