A fisherman walks on the dry Nidige tank bed in Shivamogga to find the last puddles in which he might catch some fish. (Shimoga Nandan | EPS)This freshwater lake in Puthuvype, Kochi has been reduced to a narrow strip of water thanks to the scorching pre-summer heat. The condition of the flora and fauna in the region has become a cause for concern as the Met department has already forecast that the coming summer is going to be a cruel one. | (Albin Mathew) 4.An old woman collects drinking water from a leaking pipeline in Karimnagar, Telangana. The entire state is in the grip of a severe shortage of water. |(EPS)A pair of painted storks scrounge for food on the cracked bed of a tank near Tirunelveli , Tamil Nadu. (P Justine | EPS)Farmers extract water from a bore well to save their crop at Chinnamanur in Theni district OF Tamil Nadu. (P Mahendran | EPS)Birds wait to catch fish in a drying pond in Ramanathapuram, Tamil nadu. (Alagu | EPS)Marshland near Chennai has turned into desert even before the onset of summer. (Sunish P Surendran | EPS)Woman fill water from a muncipal water pipeline at Rasulpura in Hyderabad. (Vinay Madapu | EPS)