MITHI, Sept 8: The government is actively considering to launch a crash programme to combat drought in Thar, the chief secretary of Sindh, K B Rind, said here on Sunday.

Absence of Monsoon rains, the chief secretary Sindh said, had plunged the Thar area had caused the drought. He said that deteriorating situation in the region is likely to cause a massive exodus of impoverished Tharis towards other districts.

Rind was speaking at a meeting with the district Nazim, DCO and other concerned officers of various department at the DCO office here.

The chief secretary asked the health department to ensure adequate supply of anti-venom vaccine in hospitals, saying that a large number of Tharis were bitten by snakes every year.

Apprising the chief secretary regarding the prevailing drought situation in Thar, Arbab Attaullah said that the district government had submitted a report to the Sindh government. He urged the authorities to declare the district a calamity-hit area. He also stressed on the need for initiating immediate relief measures, saying if urgent steps were not taken the drought might attain alarming proportions in the near future.

Earlier, the chief secretary visited the site of Thar Coal project near village Thahario Halepoto on Saturday.

He was given a detailed briefing about the coal project by Chinese experts as well as the representative of the Sindh Coal Authority.

The chief secretary Sindh, K B Rind, on the occasion, said that the project would make a deep impact on the economy of Thar, Sindh and Pakistan.