"Dry" takes on a whole new meaning..

The reports of water scarcity in Latur, Maharashtra are so scary. The land there is parched and people are literally scrambling for water. Women, who earlier used to walk 4 kms in search of water, starting early in the morning by 6 am now leave their homes at midnight – they have to walk much longer to get water.

This region is one of the most fertile in Maharashtra but the black soil is today bone dry, dying for water. There are two months of high summer ahead, where temperatures in this region soars over 40; what will happen then? Govt sends some tankers every 20-30 days but we are talking about water, how can 20-30 days do? The locals depend on private tanker operators, most run by politicians only and they are looting the people with sky high prices.

The drought in so bad that stored water in the dams of Marathwada are as low as 5-6% v/s 18% last year. Most of the rivers and reservoirs in Latur district are dry. Manjara dam, which is the source of water in Beed, Osmanabad and Latur districts, have dried completely. Some 16,800 villages are affected. Aurangabad, Nanded, Latur, Parbhani, Jalna, Beed, Hingoli and Osmanabad are worst affected.

And we here in the cities should think twice before wasting water…..we literally have a water crisis on our hands and the media, politicians seem to be living in Utopia, with no coverage on this 'dry' issue.