Mumbaikars and the politicians who are seeking their votes may not be affected yet, but their counterparts in rural Maharashtra have been staring at acute water scarcity that leads to unrest in the time of campaign. Everyone loves a drought, they say. But do politicians love drought during elections? Nature spares none as the politicians will be subjected to questioning over the measures that they would be taking to mitigate water scarcity in the long run. Promises have fallen flat in certain regions where water shortage is perennial.

On Monday, the state`s water stock in the big, medium and small reservoirs had depleted to 33.33 per cent. With two more months to go for the monsoon (if it arrives on time), the state is staring at an acute water scarcity in mid April. Over 5,000 villages are being supplied water through tankers. The number of tankers is expected to increase further because of the rising temperature.