The Severe Water Crisis Haunting Marathwada in Pictures

A photo essay on Marathawada’s severe water crisis.

The severe water crisis haunting Maharashtra’s Marathwada. (Photo Courtesy: Ameya Marathe)

In the drought-hit Marathwada region of Maharashtra, water levels in dams have dropped to 3 percent of the total capacity, officials said on Monday.

Eight of the region’s 11 major dams are at dead storage level, meaning water from these dams cannot flow out but has to be lifted out by other means.

This is the fourth year of drought in Marathwada in the past five years. Each of its 8,522 villages has been affected for at two consecutive years.

As many as 2,745 water tankers are being used in the region compared to 939 this time last year.

The water crisis is so severe in some parts of the region that water is being delivered through a special “water train” filled at Miraj in western Maharashtra.

These photographs by Ameya Marathe, curated by Nikhil Inamdar, capture the haunting water crisis faced by people of the region, especially the agrarian communities, with many ending their lives as a last resort and several others migrating to bigger cities.