In Pictures: India Reels From Severe Drought

Moving pictures from the drought-hit regions across India

A dried up pond is seen in Talagoan, 145 kilometres (90 miles) north-east of Mumbai. (Photo: AP)

Shantabai Babulkar’s day begins before dawn with a 5-kilometer (3-mile) trek across barren fields and dusty scrubland to fetch water from a distant well. She balances two metal pots of muddy water atop her head, and carries a third in the crook of her arm – the only water she and her family of five will have for the day’s needs of drinking, cooking and washing.

Babulkar’s village of Shahapur, in Thane district of the west Indian state of Maharashtra, is in the grips of one of the worst droughts in decades. Parched fields, burnt crops and wasted cattle have helped drive up the number of suicides by distressed farmers unable to repay their loans.

A woman along with her son walks to get water from a communal tube well at Raichi Wadi village, 120 kilometers north-east of Mumbai, (Photo: AP)

Hundreds of millions of people in at least 13 states are reeling from severe drought, a situation that is expected to worsen in the coming months.

Failed harvests force poor farmers to borrow money at high interest rates for buying seeds, fertilizers and even food for themselves and their cattle. They often mortgage their lands and, as borrowings mount, many are driven to suicide.

People wait to fill their vessels with water at a communal tap in Kukse Borivali, 85 kilometers north-east of Mumbai. (Photo: AP)

Children carry water for use at home at Panch Amber village, near Mumbai. (Photo: AP)

Last year, 3,228 farmers in Maharashtra alone committed suicide, according to government data. In the first three months of this year, 273 farmers took their lives just in Marathwada.

A woman leaves after filling her vessels with water at a communal tap in Kukse Borivali, Maharashtra. (Photo: AP)

Children forced to climb down an almost dried up well in a village in Dindori to fetch the remaining water in Madhya Pradesh. (Photo: ANI)

A woman carries utensils to fetch water from a broken pipe line at Panch Amber village, 140 kilometers north-east of Mumbai. (Photo: AP)

The situation was so dire in Maharashtra that the government sent a “water train” of tankers carrying half a million liters to Latur. The train, travelling a distance of 350 kilometers (220 miles), was stopped along the way by angry villagers wanting a share of the water. Finally, the police had to escort it to its destination.

Workers fill water in Central Railway train tanks to transport to drought affected Latur District from Miraj station near Sangli. (Photo: PTI)

A woman collects water from a spring at Raichi Wadi village in Maharashtra.  (Photo: AP)

In cities and towns across India, water shortages have led to the formation of private water companies that control water that is supplied by tankers often at exorbitant rates.

Farmers are selling their cattle and moving to nearby cities in search of daily wage labour.

A boy who migrated from drought hit areas of Maharashtra, carries water to his family’s makeshift hut in Kukse Borivali. (Photo: AP)

Water crisis in Raichur (Karnataka), Canals dry up due to drought-like situation. (Photo: ANI)