Lack of sufficient rainfall and searing heatwave has caused an acute drought situation in a major portion of the country. Lakhs of families are suffering from lack of minimum potable water. Agriculture and livestock has also been severely affected. This grave drought situation at the very onset of summer is a serious concern.
Seeing the misery, Ramakrishna Mission has initiated drought relief work in some of the affected areas. Thousands of liters of drinking water is being distributed among the drought victims through our Pune and Aurangabad centres in Satara and Aurangabad districts respectively of Maharashtra, through our Belagavi and Ponnampet centres in Belagavi and Kodagu districts respectively of Karnataka and through our Hyderabad centre in Warangal, Ranga Reddy and Karimnagar districts of Telangana. A brief report of the relief work conducted so far is given below:
| MAHARASHTRA | MAHARASHTRA | MAHARASHTRA | MAHARASHTRA | MAHARASHTRA |
| Centre | Area | Duration | Population | Quantity of Water Supply |
| Pune | 3 villages in Satara district | 8 April to 5 June | 9,000 people (approx.) | 34,20,000 litres |
| 4 villages in Ahmednagar district | 6 May to 25 June (Ongoing) | 8695 people (approx.) | 31,18,000 litres | |
| Aurangabad | 26 villages in Aurangabad taluk/district | 1 May to 14 June (Ongoing) | 25,810 people (approx.) | 40,65,000 litres |
| KARNATAKA | KARNATAKA | KARNATAKA | KARNATAKA | KARNATAKA |
| Belagavi (Belgaum) | 16 villages in Belagavi district | 10 April to 15 June (Ongoing) | 77,200 people (approx.) | 60,72,000 litres |
| Ponnampet | Halligattu Deva colony and Seetha Colony in Kodagu district | May 2016 | 110 families | 30,000 litres |
| TELANGANA | TELANGANA | TELANGANA | TELANGANA | TELANGANA |
| Hyderabad | Adalpur village in Ranga Reddy district | 28 April to 10 May | 508 families (approx.) | 6800 litres |
| 7 villages in Warangal district | 30 April to 6 June | 2,683 families | 15,78,000 litres | |
| 4 villages in Karimnagar district | 11,460 families | 16,90,000 litres | ||
| 8 colonies in Adilabad district | 3,300 families | 5,07,000 litres |
Hyderabad centre has excavated a well on the Kangna riverbed in Adalpur village in Yalal Mandal in Ranga Reddy district. Water is being pumped from this well to the village situated 1.5 km away. Moreover, the centre has installed a Reverse Osmosis Plant at Gajulaguda village in Ranga Reddy district which will help the villagers avail filtered ground water. Both these projects were inaugurated on 10.06.2016 by the undersigned. The centre has also distributed 40,100 litres of buttermilk at Nizamabad and Karimnagar areas among 1,60,018 people from 1 April to 26 May.
To ensure a permanent solution to water crisis problem, Pune centre has undertaken a ‘Water Conservation Project’ by excavating the river Kanadi at Shiur village in Ahmednagar district. Inaugurated on 14.05.2016, the project will involve providing compartment bunds on the river while excavating the riverbed based on Shirpur pattern. Work is continuing in full flow and is expected to be completed soon.
The relief work is going on and is expected to continue for some time.