Heatwave Hits India Hard As Several States Reel Under Acute Water Crisis

An intense heatwave gripping India has caused widespread water shortages and heat-related illnesses. Many regions across the nation are reeling under acute water scarcity.

The intense heatwave burning a major part of the country has dealt a double whammy to several states. While people are falling sick and losing their lives due to heatstroke and dehydration, various regions, including national capital Delhi, are reeling under a severe water crisis.

People could be seen jumping onto water tankers as they sped by to grab a pail of water. Long queues in front of tankers in Delhi were a common sight on Thursday. In states like Haryana, people complained of long power cuts accompanying a crunch in water supply. Regions of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and other states have also been left parched by the intense heatwave across India.

Delhi Water Crisis

In Delhi's Chanakyapuri's Sanjay Camp area, people were seen running behind a water tanker as a few youths climbed on top of it to "reserve" a space to insert an outlet pipe. The lucky ones managed to fix an outlet to the tanker's opening as people below lined up with buckets and gallons ready to be filled up by the other ends of the pipes.

 

People had to queue up outside Delhi Jal Board’s water emergency counters to book tankers as the shortage of water hit them hard on Thursday.

Visuals from the Geeta Colony area showed people jostling for space behind a water tanker as they struggled to line up buckets and gallons to fill up.  

Hit by the water crisis the Delhi government issued a directive for imposing a penalty of Rs 2,000 for wastage of water. 

Other than Delhi, various places in India are grappling with severe scarcity of water. The water level in dams at various places have diminished and at some locations, people are relying on water from dug-up pits or river crevices.

Maharashtra Dams Drying Up

Maharashtra is struggling with a severe water crisis and it could be reflected in the data of shrinking water levels of various dams in the state. The situation is getting worrisome with each passing day as out of the total of 2,994 dams, 27 already have zero stored water.

The 920 dams in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra have already hit their lowest of 9.18 per cent water left by the end of May. Water storage in 720 dams of Western Maharashtra dipped to 16.76 per cent. While in Eastern and Western Vidarbha, the water levels have gone below 40%, water levels in Northern Maharashtra have dwindled to 24.99%. Konkan which had 173 dams, is at 36.37% of the water reserve.

As per an Indian Express report at the Water Resources Department, the intense long summers are credited for lower water storage in dams across the state. 

Moreover, the Maharashtra state government has appealed to the district collectors and revenue officials to look for and provide the necessary relief in their respective talukas.

In an ANI video, villagers of Amravati's Mariampur are consuming water acquired from pits dug on the banks of a polluted pond.

Chhattisgarh District Looks For Water In Crevices

In the Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district of Chhattisgarh, natives are dependent upon rivers and crevices to fulfil their daily water needs amidst rising temperatures. For the residents of Sonbarsa Gram Panchayat in the Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district the situation is critical, reported ANI.

Videos showed residents of the village with kitchen utensils and buckets arriving to collect water from the rivers and even crevices.

SDM of Manendragarh, Lingraj Sidar on Wednesday spoke over the concerning situation and said that the relevant officials will soon resolve the matter.

J&K Village 

Amid the abnormal temperatures of this year’s summer, Jammu & Kashmir has also been struck by a severe water shortage. In Magolat village of Udhampur district, Jammu and Kashmir, the traditional 'baoli (reservoir)' has dried up.

Residents shared their plight as they spoke to IANS.

A “baoli” is a source of fresh water and its drying up has pulled several households and neighbouring areas into crisis.

Haryana

While the Delhi government is blaming its Haryana counterpart for stopping its share of water, the residents of the latter are infuriated over the double trouble that has come together in the form of a water and electricity crisis. 

People protested by blocking NH 334B for four hours on Thursday demanding electricity and water. "We have been troubled for 3 days," said residents to IANS.

"Give us electricity, give us water," they demanded.

Uttarakhand

Not only the human population is severely affected by the deepening water crisis. Due to the blazing heat, the water crisis in Uttarakhand is a trouble to wild animals.

Recently, the state government in Uttarakhand had banned washing cars with water due to hovering issue of water crisis.