Millions of Indians facing worst drought in decades
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Indian villagers gather around a well to fill their pots with water during a drought in Natwargadh village, some 110km from Ahmedabad, the capital city of India's western Gujarat state, on June 6, 2003. Millions of people in western India are suffering their worst drought in more than four decades, senior officials say in March 2013, with the crisis set to deepen with no rain expected for months. -- FILE PHOTO: AFP
MUMBAI (AFP) - Millions of people in western India are suffering their worst drought in more than four decades, with critics blaming official ineptitude and corruption for exacerbating the natural water shortage.
Central areas of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, are facing a water shortage worse than the severe drought in 1972, the state's chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told AFP.
"In recorded history the reservoirs have never been so low in central Maharashtra," he said. "With every passing day the reservoirs are drying up."
Mr Chavan blamed the crisis on two successive poor monsoons, although others say a public policy failure is also responsible.
