The water level in the biggest of them all, Tereh Mori dam in Fatehpur Sikri, is zero and so are the Utangan and Khari rivers. More than 700 community ponds in the districts are dry. What will happen after a couple of months is a question that is worrying farmers.

Sachchendra Kumar Singh, a farmer, said: 'the situation is truly alarming. The water scarcity has affected the crops. The fields are dry and the standing summer crop has been partially scorched.'

'Government agencies should have woken up and done something to ensure that farmers did not suffer,' said Surendra Singh Chandel of Kachchpura village.

'These government agencies have squandered thousands of crores on the Taj Trapezium and other useless projects. If that money had gone on developing infrastructure, sprinklers and drip irrigation systems, the results would have been encouraging.

'The sad part is that the official machinery has not yet woken up to the fear of the farmers. If it rains in a few days or a low pressure area is created, there could be some relief in store, but if that doesn't happen, we are in deep trouble for sure,' Chandel warned.