Water scarcity has gripped several states in India as groundwater levels continue to deplete at an alarming rate. Mercury levels are rising and large parts of the country are experiencing severe droughts.
Vrinda Kumari, a daily wage laborer stands patiently in the baking hot sun with buckets and water bottles waiting for the municipal water truck that makes its rounds every three days in this New Delhi neighborhood.
Underneath the water truck, children squat with little buckets, which they use to collect the drops of water spilling from the undercarriage.
"Scuffles break out regularly," Kumari says. "Sometimes we have to return empty-handed and have to buy water which is expensive. What option do we have? We don't have piped water in our homes and the hand-pumps put up by the government do not work."
"Scarcity of drinking water is affecting our daily routine," agrees Padam Gupta, a shopkeeper in west Delhi. "Many poor neighborhoods in the capital have been badly hit and it is really difficult to live when the temperatures rise."
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