In a span of just three days, two children were killed by the intense heat wave in Maharashtra’s drought-hit Marathwada region. A 12-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, both belonging to Beed district of Maharashtra, died when they were out in the scorching sun to fetch water.

On April 19, Yogita Ashok Desai had gone to fill water from a hand pump near her village, Sabalkhed. After making four trips to fetch water, the girl was left dehydrated. While making her fifth trip, the girl collapsed.

Just two days later, on April 21, 11-year-old Sachin Gopinath Kedar of Veeda village died after slipping into a well from where he was fetching water. The well was about half a kilometer away from his home.

Read how in drought-hit Marathwada, actor Nana Patekar and his NGO are helping out to restore the parched land.

According to the data provided by the National Disaster Management Authority, 2,422 people died due to heat wave in India in 2015. This was a dramatic jump from previous year’s figures when 1,677 people had succumbed to the heat.

Maharashtra and other parts of the country have been facing drought for several months. A few days ago, the Centre informed the supreme court that 33 crore people in 2.5 lakh villages on the country are facing water shortage.