Villagers carry water home in Shuangnuo Village of Fuyuan County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 28, 2012. A severe drought has lingered in Fuyuan County for three consecutive years, leaving 150,000 people and about 2,300 hectares farmland short of water. More than 3,000 people in Shuangnuo Village were stranded after a water supply source dried up in late January 2012. The local government called on villagers to look for a new water source. Through several days' effort, a quaternion consisting of Ao Xuanping, Yang Shikun, Yang Shiqiang and Yang Shisong found a water source, which locates 8 kilometers away from the village. It is 120 meters between ground and the source, which is buried in a grotto with an incline of 70 degree angle. With the help of other villagers, the quaternion put up five wooden ladders from the water source in the grotto to the ground. Since the grotto is so narrow that allows only one person to go up and down, villagers had to pass barrels of water one by one on the ladders. It takes at least 2 hours to get dozens of barrels out of the grotto. After knowing the situation, local government bought machine in order to pump the water out. However, due to inadequate power of the machine, water could only be pumped to a place in the grotto which is still 10 meters away to the ground. Villagers have to fill barrels with water at the place and then carry them upward. The local government has submitted an application for building a drinking water project which could transport the water in the grotto to the village directly. It is estimated that there is 100,000 cubic meters of water in the grotto and 200 cubic meters can be pumped everyday, which can relieve 8,000 people and 12,000 animals who are stranded in the drought in the village. Drought and low rainfall in the past three consecutive years have dried up 273 rivers and 413 small reservoirs in Yunnan. The ongoing drought has affected people in 15 prefectures and municipalities, leaving 3.19 million people and 1.58 million heads of livestock short of drinking water in the province. China's Ministry of Finance said Wednesday that it appropriated an emergency fund of 500 million yuan (79.47 million U.S. dollars) to help the drought relief in Yunnan. [Xinhua]