The water crisis in Jharkhand has deepened over the past couple of weeks (Representative Image) | Photo Credit: BCCL

Ranchi: With almost half of the country staring at an acute water crisis, the situation in rural pockets of India is getting grimmer by the day. One such instance has come to light from the state of Jharkhand where a man allegedly went on a stabbing spree and ended up injuring half a dozen people, sending them to the hospital, following a dispute over access to drinking water.

Eyewitness accounts revealed that the attacker is believed to be one Bharat Prasad, a resident of Kishorganj or nearby areas in the state capital of Ranchi. One of the victims told media persons that Prasad came to their area and filled up as many as 20 jars of water. He went away with the jars on a cart but returned sometime later in the day.

When confronted by the victim's father over his identity and area of residence, Prasad engaged in an argument with the victim's son who objected to his angry tone. In a fit of rage, Prasad wielded a knife and began stabbing the victim. He stabbed five other people, including the victim's mother, who tried to stop his attacking spree.

When asked about the water shortage which is giving way to such violence, Jharkhand Urban Development Minister CP Singh said that he read about the incident in the news. "It such a thing has happened, it is wrong. One should not fight since everyone wants water," said the minister. He further claimed that the central and state governments along with local municipal bodies are doing what they can with the water they have.

#WaterCrisis -- A youngster was beaten to death over water sharing issue in Thanjavur district of #TamilNadu | @madhavpramod1 reports pic.twitter.com/e3rTTHGB8r — Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) June 7, 2019

Singh also claimed that provisions for borewell-drawn water are being made and pipelines are being set up for this purpose but some people are installing motors and sucking out groundwater. "Water harvesting is the need of the hour," he says. However, ground reports suggest that pumps and wells drying up have forced residents of Ranchi to depend on water tanks supplied by the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC). These tankers come once or twice a week, leaving locals vying for more water.