Srinagar, July 11 -- The sun had barely dipped behind the Pir Panchal range when Ghulam Nabi Dar, a wiry man in his 60s, left his village. With a flashlight and a kettle in hand, he, along with three other fellow men, began a night-long journey into the forested areas of Tangmarg to look for some water.

This is not any sort of adventurous journey for him, but a dangerous track in deserted areas inhabited by wild animals. "This is how we have been living here. The paddy and apple orchards are at risk now because of a lack of irrigation water. So, we have to again go to Kulwaan to guard water from the source till the fields," he said.

For the second year in a row, Kashmir's summer has arrived with little to no rain. The usual rhythm of Ju...