LATUR: When Natabai Tenkale keeled over and died in a queue for water at her slum colony’s pipeline, the tragedy earned a new tag in the parched city of Latur: “water death”.With the city’s water supply reduced to a trickle, the 55-year old had been lining up at 4 am for weeks to fill pots of water. On March 6th soon after receiving the day’s supply, she had a heart attack. “The sheer exhaustion of doing this every night was too much for her,” says her daughter-in-law Sangeeta.Located in drought-struck Marathwada, Latur city is experiencing its most intense water crisis . Many say this is the region’s worst calamity after the 1993 Latur earthquake.In March, as public tempers frayed, the administration banned the people from gathering along water filling points and tanker routes for three weeks.The prohibitory orders were lifted on April 1, but the mood remains tense.Latur city’s nearly 5 lakh population has lived with water shortages for 15 years. In 2015, it received tap water only every two or three weeks.Yet for the first time, all its taps shut down on February 22nd when the Dhanegaon dam dried up completely. Against the norm of 80 million litres per day required for its population, Latur city is now managing with just 20 million litres per day.The entire city now receives water mainly through tankers. But municipal tankers deliver water only once every 6-8 days. And the limit is merely 200 litres per family. This means some families receive the water only once every fortnight or month.When the long-awaited civic tanker arrives at Kaligalli, a scuffle erupts. “We didn’t get any municipal water for the entire month. By the time the tanker reaches us, the water is always over. Those who do dada-giri get the water,” complains resident Sonali Devkar. Residents say they cannot bathe more than once or twice a week.The gap in supply has pushed people increasingly into the hands of Latur’s lucrative water market. Most residents end up paying between Rs 1000-2000 per month to buy water. Compared to 70 government tankers, there are an estimated 800 private tankers and 100 private bottled water plants.“The water market in Latur has a turnover of at least Rs 50 lakh a day. It has gone up 10 times in the last year alone,” says Atul Deulgaonkar of the Forum of Environmental Journalists of India, based in Latur.“Tankers have doubled their rates and there is no control over spurious bottled water,” he adds. Water supplied in a 6,000 litre tankers now costs Rs 900 compared to Rs 500 last year.At a well near the India Nagar slum, desperate residents who cannot afford to buy water, line up. The water that emerges is swimming with dead insects and even a few small fish. “I buy drinking water. Water from the well is used to bathe and clean the house. If there is an insect in the bucket, I just flick it off,”says local cook Narsing Kolpe.The water crisis has also hit hotels, hospitals and industry. “Twenty per cent of our dal and sugar mills have shut down. In the rest, productivity is down by 70%,”says Chandu Baladawa of the Latur District Industries Association. With construction at a halt, allied businesses like stone-crushing and cement-mixing have also shut down.Officials say there is enough water to last Latur city till the monsoon. “Latur needs 20 million litres of water a day. We get 15 million from borewells and another 4 million litres from nearby dams and barrages. The water will last at least till July 31st,” says Latur municipal Commissoner Sudhakar Telang. The Indian Railways have also offered trains to carry water to Latur.Meanwhile, there are already signs of coming conflicts. Tankers in Latur city have to travel over 30 km away to tap water sources in Dongargaon and Malkunji. In March, villagers in both locations opposed their water being taken away for Latur city. For a week, tankers going to Dongargaon were given police protection.Critics warn that unless urgent steps are taken, Latur will be a tinderbox by the peak of summer. “Officials need to be hands-on and there must be better water management. Latur city has 80% water leakages,” points out Deulgaonkar. “After the Latur earthquake, there was a strong response from the government and civil society. This water crisis is more widespread and on-going but there is not much response from the government,” he points out.