Parched earth, pouring pain.
With 2017 set to unleash unprecedented water scarcity in the country—from Bundelkhand to Andhra Pradesh—fields, ponds and reservoirs are drying up, leaving cattle to die and farmers foraging for food.
Delhi is experiencing a summer of plenty avoiding water crisis and enjoying surplus power.
The first trace of moisture available is at 100m below ground level in Rajasthan.
In the South, reservoirs are down to 10 per cent of storage.
In Bundelkhand region, the defining picture of drought is endless distances of parched earth.
Almost 80 percent of the region’s population is mainly agricultural (2011 census).
However, one place where all that is blasé in India, bar the Thar desert, is Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh, a crucible of drought for as long as anyone can remember.
Rayalaseema is synonymous with drought —a far cry from popular lore that during the time of the Vijayanagara kingdom, merchants would sell rubies in the markets.
In Tamil Nadu, the drought has affected weddings too.