Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to declare the ongoing drought in country a national emergency, reported Reuters. The children's rights activist held that children are most vulnerable in adverse situations like the one the country is facing right now because of the severe shortage of water.

The 62-year-old drew Modi's attention to the more than 160 million kids whose lives were at stake in the crisis. He requested the PM to prioritise children and ensure they are not trafficked, forced into marriage or put into bonded labour during these difficult times.

"Reports of children being forced into child labour, trafficking, child marriage, and the devadasi [dedicating girls to service in temples] system are coming to light with children increasingly dropping out from school... and large scale migration due to this crisis," Satyarthi wrote to Modi.

He said that there has been a 22% rise in the number of children who dropped out of school in drought-hit states. He added that child trafficking cases have also gone up by 24%. According to the government's data, almost a quarter of the country's population has been hit by the drought as states such as Maharashtra and Karnataka struggle with diminishing water resources.