With parts of the Godavari river drying up, tanker services are the only option.
Water is needed both in life and death. But the scarcity in Maharashtra's Marathwada has reached such proportions that people are being forced to buy water for the last rites of their loved ones.
With parts of the Godavari river drying up, tanker services are the only option. For someone like Shirish Tulwankar, it came as a huge disappointment.
Mr Tulwankar, who had travelled all the way from Pune to Auragabad's Paithan to perform his mother's last rites and have a dip in the Godavari, but found himself buying a tanker. "There's barely any water in Godavari. Whatever is left is dirty. But we don't have a choice as these are our rituals," he said.
Civic bodies acknowledge the problem but have few options to offer. They say it is a choice between using water to drink or for religious activities.
"There is drinking water, but none to spare for activities like scattering ashes, which is important for Hindus. They have to settle for other alternatives like digging small tunnels or using water tankers," said Rahul Suryavanshi, Chief Officer of Paithan Municipal Council.
The drought claimed the life of 32-year-old Lata Bobade's husband. Four months ago, 34-year-old Ramesh, a cotton farmer, had committed suicide in Marathwada's Aurangabad district.
"My husband was responsible for the whole family and he had borrowed a lot of money, not just from banks but relatives too. Now I need to work to repay the loans," said Latha.
One of Maharashtra's largest dams, the Jayakwadi, has barely 10 per cent water left and in Marathwada, there's only 2% left in dams.
"The government has been saying for 5 years that they will do something, but nothing has happened. What other choice do we have but suicide?" questioned farmer Krishna Bobade.