The past week's suicide by a village elder has put the spotlight on the drinking water crisis in the rural hinterland of Maharashtra in spite of a good monsoon in the past few years. A 65-year-old man in the Buldhana district of the State doused himself with kerosene and set himself afire in front of the local Government office in broad daylight last week. Devidas had warned Government officials a month ago that he would immolate himself if his village, Sunderkhed, was not provided with adequate drinking water. And now his son has threatened to follow suit if the villagers' demand for clean drinking water is not met.