Intense heat causes water scarcity in many parts of India

The early heatwave sweeping across India has brought water and power crises in many cities.

Like many people, Ankit Jaiswal an executive at a private company living in the Wazirabad locality of the capital New Delhi is awaiting water tankers instead of going to work.

“I don't know how much more trouble we have to face. Drinking water is not supplied by civic authorities for two days at a stretch. The temperature is increasing every day. We don’t know how much more we have to suffer,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Thousands of people in several localities in the capital are struggling to get water during this summer season.

Such is the enormity of the situation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the situation relating to heatwave management at a high-level meeting. The meeting advised states and union territories to have heat action plans in place at both the state as well as city and district levels, according to an official statement.

At least 25 people have died in the western province of Maharashtra because of heatstroke. Nearly 470 cases of heatstroke have been registered in the state, according to official records.