Drought relief in rural areas "urgent task" for local authorities: President Hu

BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- President Hu Jintao has urged local government officials to treat drought relief in rural areas as an "urgent task" as he wraps up a four-day inspection tour in central China's Hubei Province.

Hu's call comes in the midst of the worst drought in 60 years that hit the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. These areas are China's important agricultural production bases.