Click to play videoAurangabad: Nirmala is busy in the daily grind. Just four days ago, she was sitting in the same house in bridal finery.
But hours before she could tie the knot, the groom's family turned back.
The reason? Ajmeri Bigha village has no water and her father could not arrange water for the marriage party.
Says Nirmala's grandmother Lal Munni Devi, "My daughter's wedding had to be called off because of water scarcity."
"All I can say is it's so sad that I could not get married because of scarcity of water," says Nirmala Kumari.
Central Bihar is in the grip of a severe drought. So acute is the crisis that it is ruining marriages and other social functions.
Water scarcity is the reality of central Bihar today. There is not enough water to drink and the only source of water these villagers have are community water tankers that come to their locality once a day.
But even with the tankers, there is not enough to quench the villager's thirst, let alone for guests.
Says a villager Kedar Yadav, "We have cancelled or postponed all marriages because of the drought."
With all the wells going dry, the biggest luxury in this region seems to be a full-body bath these days.
The same water which has no value here in metros is no less than liquid gold for people in draught hit areas.
So precious is it that it could even jeopardize weddings. It is now the government's turn to chip in so that lives can be saved and hopes and dreams not shattered.
(With inputs from Prabhakar Kumar)
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