‘Will there be another drought? Can government tackle it?’

IN MARCH, when the Latur water crisis was at its peak, like scores of others, the family of Umarfarukh Mainoddin Patel wanted desperately to leave the city. “It was the worst nightmare of our life. We had to walk kilometres in the blazing summer sun to get a bucket of water,” remembers Umarfarukh.

Often, it fell upon the 17-year-old to fetch water for the family, which lives in Shahu Chowk area of Latur, as his father would leave for work early in the morning.

“The nearest water points were Gandhi Chowk and Vivekanand Chowk, both 2 km away,” says the Class 12 student. He either carried the pitchers home or rode back with them on a bicycle.

It was an exercise that could last up to eight hours a day, says Umarfarukh. By the time he reached the spot, there would already be long queues, of people with twothree pitchers or buckets each, struggling with the trickle being dispensed at the water point. “I used to get a fright.”

In a crucial academic year, his studies suffered too, Umarfarukh says, as standing in the sun for so long often left him ill.

His ambition is to become a judge. “I want to ensure justice to the poor, especially those wrongly charged... In this country, only those who have money get justice, the poor have little recourse to justice,” he says.

His father is a property dealer and his earnings from his commissions are irregular. “Sometimes he gets Rs 20,000 a month, sometimes more,” says Umarfarukh.

The family has eight members, including Umarfarukh’s four sisters, his parents and grandmother.

While the water train to Latur ran from April to August, the situation only eased after the September deluge, which filled the Manjara dam to capacity. The five lakh-plus Latur residents now get tap water every fourfive days.

But Umarfarukh fears the summer of 2016 will return. Will there be another drought, and if it does, is the government better prepared, he asks. “Has the government or authorities thought of steps like increasing the green cover and desilting rivers and lakes? You hardly find any trees in the city. The gardens have become dumping yards.”

The 17-year-old also wonders if the government is serious about plans to link rivers. He says he has heard on TV it would end woes of regions such as Latur. “I heard the issue was taken up in Parliament... But is there any progress on that front?”

MANOJ MORE