12-year-old girl dies of heat stroke in drought-hit Beed

Bringing the drought in Maharashtra into sharp focus, a 12-year-old girl in Sabalkhed village in Beed district died of heat stroke while she had gone to fetch water on Tuesday afternoon. According to a television channel, the victim, Yogita Ashok Desai, was already dehydrated after having repeatedly tried to fill water from a hand pump.

Reportedly, Yogita, a standard V student, had already made four trips to the hand pump. Dehydrated, she collapsed on her fifth trip, given that mercury levels had soared to 44 degree centigrade. Yogita's uncle, Ishwar, said, “Schools were closed, so she went to fetch water in order to help us. She fell unconscious on her way to the hand pump and was taken to hospital, where she was declared dead.”

Yogita’s isn’t the only such case in drought-hit Marathwada. Owing to severe water shortage, each member of the family, especially children, are forced to make multiple trips to water tanks and hand pumps in the sweltering heat.

Aurangabad divisional commissioner, Umakant Dangat, on Tuesday said that only 3 per cent water was left in dams in the parched region. Eight out of the 11 major dams were at dead storage level, meaning that water from these dams could not flow out but had to be lifted.