Mumbaikars will rap me at this point in time if I say that rains do not necessarily mean big trouble. But 70-year-old Vinayak Patil, who lives 500 km from here, in dusty Shirdhon, a village in the drought-affected Osmanabad district, and many others living in similar conditions, will definitely agree because my observation is based on their experience.

Lakhs of villagers across the state are voluntarily supporting a project ‘Jalayukta Shivar’ (water sufficient vicinity), CM Devendra Fadnavis’ flagship programme that seeks to conserve water for meeting their agrarian needs and mitigating the perennial drinking water crisis.