Meanwhile, fire was exchanged along the Line of Control (LoC), the 740km (460-mile) de facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir, for a fifth straight night. Pakistan said it had downed a drone, with fears of an escalation between the nuclear powers bubbling.

"If they stop water, all of this will turn into the Thar desert, the whole country," one farmer said. "We'll die of hunger."

In the days since, tensions have risen dangerously between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.