India's drought of 1972 is a reference point to calculate the age of Vyjayanta Ithape, 70. Ithape, seen here in March, gave birth to a son and also lost her husband that year. She now lives alone in the town of Chincholi, which has been relying on water tankers for the past three years. "This one is unlike any other drought in the past," she told photographer Harsha Vadlamani. "We have grain to eat but no water to drink."
India's drought of 1972 is a reference point to calculate the age of Vyjayanta Ithape, 70. Ithape, seen here in March, gave birth to a son and also lost her husband that year. She now lives alone in the town of Chincholi, which has been relying on water tankers for the past three years. "This one is unlike any other drought in the past," she told photographer Harsha Vadlamani. "We have grain to eat but no water to drink."
Harsha Vadlamani
A blackbuck, aka the Indian antelope, sprints across a road in Beed, India. Farmers say the drying up of watering holes in the jungles has led to an increase in wild animals on their farms.
A blackbuck, aka the Indian antelope, sprints across a road in Beed, India. Farmers say the drying up of watering holes in the jungles has led to an increase in wild animals on their farms.
Harsha Vadlamani
A man rushes with a water drum as a water tanker arrives in Latur, India.
A man rushes with a water drum as a water tanker arrives in Latur, India.
Harsha Vadlamani
Dead trees dot the hills near Dharur, India. In 2015, the state of Marathwada received only 49% of what is considered normal rainfall, according to Vadlamani.
Dead trees dot the hills near Dharur, India. In 2015, the state of Marathwada received only 49% of what is considered normal rainfall, according to Vadlamani.
Harsha Vadlamani
A family in Latur gets a borewell dug at the height of the water crisis.
A family in Latur gets a borewell dug at the height of the water crisis.
Harsha Vadlamani
Jaldoot Express, a train bringing in water from Meraj, India, is emptied at the railway station in Latur.
Jaldoot Express, a train bringing in water from Meraj, India, is emptied at the railway station in Latur.
Harsha Vadlamani
A four-member band plays at a wedding in Manjrath, India. "If not for the drought, the wedding would have been a much (more) lavish affair," said a relative attending the wedding.
A four-member band plays at a wedding in Manjrath, India. "If not for the drought, the wedding would have been a much (more) lavish affair," said a relative attending the wedding.
Harsha Vadlamani
Women in Karigaon, India, draw water from a well that is replenished once a day with water from tankers.
Women in Karigaon, India, draw water from a well that is replenished once a day with water from tankers.
Harsha Vadlamani
A woman uses a tumbler to fill her pot from a small puddle on the bed of a well in Atola, India.
A woman uses a tumbler to fill her pot from a small puddle on the bed of a well in Atola, India.
Harsha Vadlamani
Every year, thousands of farmers and landless farm workers from the Marathwada region migrate to western Maharashtra and neighboring Karnataka to harvest sugarcane for the mills there, usually for a period of six months. Here, migrants returning from Karnataka transfer to smaller vehicles in Dharur before traveling back to their respective villages.
Every year, thousands of farmers and landless farm workers from the Marathwada region migrate to western Maharashtra and neighboring Karnataka to harvest sugarcane for the mills there, usually for a period of six months. Here, migrants returning from Karnataka transfer to smaller vehicles in Dharur before traveling back to their respective villages.
Harsha Vadlamani
A cattle fodder camp in Siddewadi, India. The state government has opened 327 such camps in the three heavily-affected districts of Beed, Latur and Osmanabad, providing water and fodder to over 300,000 cattle.
A cattle fodder camp in Siddewadi, India. The state government has opened 327 such camps in the three heavily-affected districts of Beed, Latur and Osmanabad, providing water and fodder to over 300,000 cattle.
Harsha Vadlamani
Deubai Disle, 60, winnows the family's harvest of bajra (pearl millet) in Dislewadi, India. She said the yield from the 12-acre farm was only 1,000 kilograms against the normal yield of 5,000 kilograms.
Deubai Disle, 60, winnows the family's harvest of bajra (pearl millet) in Dislewadi, India. She said the yield from the 12-acre farm was only 1,000 kilograms against the normal yield of 5,000 kilograms.
Harsha Vadlamani
Baliram Jadhav, a 40-year-old farmer, waits on the operating table for anesthesia before a surgery to remove kidney stones in Latur. Jadhav blames the stones on the water he had been drinking water from a borewell, which he says is more alkaline than the water he used to drink from his well, which dried up two years ago. He lived with the pain for two years until he finally borrowed money for a procedure.
Baliram Jadhav, a 40-year-old farmer, waits on the operating table for anesthesia before a surgery to remove kidney stones in Latur. Jadhav blames the stones on the water he had been drinking water from a borewell, which he says is more alkaline than the water he used to drink from his well, which dried up two years ago. He lived with the pain for two years until he finally borrowed money for a procedure.
Harsha Vadlamani
The lack of work in villages during the summer months has forced many farmer families to migrate to cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. Here, a migrant family from Nanded, India, spends an evening at a Mumbai playground, just outside an open ground where a number of families have set up camp.
The lack of work in villages during the summer months has forced many farmer families to migrate to cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. Here, a migrant family from Nanded, India, spends an evening at a Mumbai playground, just outside an open ground where a number of families have set up camp.
Harsha Vadlamani