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Devastating drought in India’s Marathwada

A heat wave is searing western India with hundreds of millions of people affected by water shortages.

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Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Like many in the Marathwada region, these children in Belkund village are drinking unfiltered water, which is leading to health problems such as diarrhoea and kidney stones [Neha Tara Mehta/Al Jazeera]
By Faiz Jamil and Neha Tara Mehta
Published On 24 Apr 2016

An estimated 330 million people in India are suffering through debilitating drought with the Marathwada region particularly hard hit. 

Besieged by three straight years of drought, a heatwave is now intensifying the situation for those living in this part of India’s Maharashtra state.

Temperatures have soared into the 40-degree Celsius range in some areas, with others only cooling to 38C at night. It is worse for the poor in rural areas who are forced to drink from whatever water source they can find. 

Consumption of well water is leading to a rise in cases of kidney stones, doctors in the region have told Al Jazeera, as each year of drought forces people to dig deeper.

Every metre down contains water with more calcium and salts, causing a rise in health problems.

Even with water trains bringing some relief, people in other areas are desperately struggling to find potable water to survive on.

Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Many cattle owners are facing a tough time with the drought. Without water for their cattle and unable to sell them because of a beef ban in the state, many have contemplated abandoning their animals - and some even taken their own life. The government has sponsored this and other cow shelters to help ease the problem [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
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Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Zeenat Sheikh Tajuddin sorts through tur dal, a local grain. She says many of her neighbours have left because local wells have dried up. Her family is finding it hard, but they have nowhere else to go [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Sunanda Pawar, in purple, says her family have to travel to a nearby village and wait hours for water. Her mother-in-law, in yellow, injured herself getting water and went to hospital [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Suvarna Vilas Chapte, 24, from Hadolati village lies in bed next to her mother-in-law, who is holding her 10-day-old baby. She was admitted to a government hospital just before giving birth after developing gastric problems because of drinking unclean water [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Nirmala Dhage, 45, a mother of three from Gangapur village near Latur town, developed kidney stones after drinking unclean well water for the past four months. After surgery and drinking filtered water, her condition has improved. But she has already spent more than $500 on hospital expenses [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Dredging is being carried out to expand the river in Manjhra village, Latur. It used to have enough water to support the entire village. Now it's little more than a muddy stream [Neha Tara Mehta/Al Jazeera]
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Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Ram Chandra Eknath Shinde is a village leader in Latur. He says the water crisis is forcing people to flee the area [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
People line up as clean water is distributed. They told Al Jazeera that it was the first time they had received the supply in 15 days, each household was given only 50 litres [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
A temple stands next to an empty well in Solapur district in the drought-hit Marathwada [Neha Tara Mehta/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Dust flies as a tractor ploughs a dried-out field. Monsoon rains, forecast to be normal this year, are not expected until June. But some farmers are readying their fields now for the much-anticipated rain [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
A few years ago, one would have seen grapes on these vineyards. Small leaves are all that have sprouted this season [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Shivkumar Nagrale is a villager in Latur. He says nothing has been done about the water problem despite three straight years of drought [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]
Drought in India''s Marathwada region
Workers hook up pipes to drain a train loaded with drinking water from a nearby dam. Between 2.5 million to 5 million litres arrive each day to help ease the effects of the drought, but that's far from adequate [Faiz Jamil/Al Jazeera]