The Indian children who take a train to collect water

The Indian children who take a train to collect water

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As their classmates set off to play after school each day, nine-year-old Sakshi Garud and her neighbour Siddharth Dhage, 10, are among a small group of children who take a 14 km (9 miles) return train journey from their village in India to fetch water.

Their families are some of the poorest in the hamlet of Mukundwadi, in the western state of Maharashtra, a village that has suffered back-to-back droughts.

. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
A well is seen in a field.

India's monsoons have brought abundant rain and even floods in many parts of the country, but rainfall in the region around Mukundwadi has been 14% below average this year and aquifers and borewells are dry.

"I don't like to spend time bringing water, but I don't have a choice," Dhage said.

. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
Garud crosses the railway tracks on her way to school.

"This is my daily routine," said Garud. Their cramped shanty homes are just 200 metres (220 yards) from the train station. "After coming from school, I don't get time to play. I need to get water first."

They are not alone. Millions of Indians do not have secure water supplies, according to the UK-based charity, WaterAid. It says 12% of Indians, or about 163 million people, do not have access to clean water near their homes - the biggest proportion of any country.

. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
A woman washes utensils outside her house.

Recognising the issue, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to spend more than 3.5 trillion rupees ($49 billion) to bring piped water to every Indian household by 2024.

More than 100 families in Garud and Dhage's neighbourhood do not have access to piped water and many depend on private water suppliers, who charge up to 3,000 rupees ($42) for a 5,000-litre tanker during summer months.

But private water supply is something Garud and Dhage's parents say they can not afford.

. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
Manju Gaikwad, 11, looks out of the train window on her way back home.

"Nowadays, I don't get enough money to buy groceries. I can't buy water from private suppliers," said Dhage's father, Rahul, a construction worker. "I am not getting work every day."

Garud and Dhage and other children from Mukundwadi take the train daily to fetch water from the nearby city of Aurangabad.

The train is often overcrowded, so a group of small children jostling to get on board with pitchers to fill with water is not always welcome.

. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
Siddharth Dhage and his neighbour Gaurav Ganesh, 13, sit in the luggage compartment of a train.

"Some people help me, sometimes they complain to railway officials for putting pitchers near the door. If we don't put them near the door, we can not take them out quickly when the train stops," Dhage said.

Garud's grandmother Sitabai Kamble and an elderly neighbour help occasionally by pushing them on board in the face of irritable passengers.

"Sometimes they kick the pitchers away, they grumble," Kamble said.

. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
Aryan, a brother of 10-year-old Siddharth Dhage, washes his face before going to school.

When the train pulls into Aurangabad thirty minutes later, they scramble to fill the pitchers at nearby water pipes. Garud can't reach the tap, so she relies on her taller sister, Aaysha, 14, and grandmother.

Others from Aurangabad, like Anjali Gaikwad, 14, and her sisters, also board the train every few days to collect water and wash clothes.

. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
Prakash Nagre washes himself at Aurangabad railway station.

Their neighbour Prakash Nagre often tags along with soap and shampoo. "There's no water to bathe at home," he says.

When the train pulls into Mukundwadi, they have just under a minute to disembark. At times, Dhage's mother, Jyoti, is waiting at the station to help.

. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
Jyoti Dhage passes her four-month-old daughter Akansha to her son Siddharth.

"I'm careful, but sometimes pitchers fall off the door in the melee and our work is wasted," she said, holding her infant in one arm and a pitcher in the other. "I can't leave my daughter at home alone so I have to take her along."

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Slideshow

Siddharth Dhage waits to board a train with empty water containers.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

Siddharth Dhage waits to board a train with empty water containers.

A passenger carrying a toy gun looks out of a train window.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

A passenger carrying a toy gun looks out of a train window.

A woman carries a plastic container.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

A woman carries a plastic container.

Sakshi Garud looks on as her mother Swati ties her sister Aaysha's hair.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

Sakshi Garud looks on as her mother Swati ties her sister Aaysha's hair.

Siddharth sits at his desk in a classroom at a school.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

Siddharth sits at his desk in a classroom at a school.

Siddharth waits for the train.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

Siddharth waits for the train.

Siddharth carries empty water containers along railway tracks.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

Siddharth carries empty water containers along railway tracks.

Anjali Gaikwad, 14, washes clothes at Aurangabad railway station.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

Anjali Gaikwad, 14, washes clothes at Aurangabad railway station.

Siddharth and his family gather for breakfast at his home.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

Siddharth and his family gather for breakfast at his home.

Aryan, a brother of Siddharth, plays with his sister Akansha at his home.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

Aryan, a brother of Siddharth, plays with his sister Akansha at his home.

A man stands beside a borewell at a construction site.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

A man stands beside a borewell at a construction site.

A woman takes hold of a pipe from a water tanker.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

A woman takes hold of a pipe from a water tanker.

A train passes by Mukundwadi railway station.
. Aurangabad, India. Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

A train passes by Mukundwadi railway station.