In drought-hit Latur, woman dies while standing in queue for water

A woman (45) died while she was fetching water in Maharashtra’s drought-hit Latur district on Tuesday.

A woman (45) died while she was fetching water in Maharashtra’s drought-hit Latur district on Tuesday.

(Representative image) A woman uses a hand-pump to collect water at a Primary Health Centre in Latur. (Reuters Photo)

Kevalbai Kamble had been standing in a queue to fetch water from a borewell at Atola village in Chakur tehsil for over two hours when she collapsed, a police official said.

She was rushed to the government hospital at Latur but was declared dead.

Read | Latur living on one-third of its water requirement

In the drought-hit Beed last month, 11-year-old Sachin Kengar died while he was trying to get water from a well near his village.

In the parched district, it was one of the many deep wells in which water had mostly dried up and pooled at the bottom.

Yogita Desai (12) died in Beed district after making five trips to a water pump near her home. She was suffering from dysentery but was forced to go out in 42 degrees Celsius to get water from a hand-pump.

Read | Now, 11-year-old boy dies fetching water from well in drought-hit Beed