The 2012 drought in Maharashtra's Marathwada region was mainly the result of lack of good water governance and poor operation of watershed development and irrigation projects. A policy that restrains sugar cane cultivation and modernises all types of water resource development works will go a long way in ensuring that a situation as in 2012-13 is not repeated.

In the neighbourhood where Kiran Lakhe lives, people haven’t seen water in their taps for close to a year now.