In Bundelkhand, Acute Water Shortage and Heat Wave Cause Distress, Forced Migration -Bharat Dogra

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published Published on May 30, 2017   modified Modified on May 30, 2017
-TheWire.in

Without functioning hand pumps or any government intervention, villagers are being forced to drink contaminated water, exposing them to skin infections and diseases.

Bundelkhand: Bundelkhand region, which is spread over 13 districts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, has often been in the news due to acute drinking water shortage. As the heat wave intensified and the water crisis peaked in many parts of the region, I spent three days  – May 21-23 – travelling to several remote villages of Tikamgarh (Madhya Pradesh), Lalitpur and Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) to speak to people about their drinking water and related problems.

Mastapur village is located in Jatara block of Tikamgarh district. Although there are about 350 households in this village, only a single hand pump is in a working condition. Villagers have to wait for long hours to get some drinking water from here. To meet their bathing and other needs, they have to go to a tank located about 2 kms away. Several villagers have no option but to drink and use unclean water which, in turn, exposes them to several skin infections and frequent bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting.

A big effort to overcome the shortage was recently made by digging 300 feet for water, but this effort was not successful. During the worst phase of the drought last year, seven water tankers were deployed in this village by a voluntary organisation Parmarth. This year, however, neither the government nor others could arrange a tanker during the heat wave. At present, no water is available in the schools of this village.

“Half of my day is spent in bringing water,” says Rekha, a villager.

“Water has become the main concern about which we keep thinking all day and night. Many of us wake up while it is dark so that we can hope to reach the hand pump before others,” Kala, another villager, adds, “Many times fights start in the process of trying to get water first.”

In Vangai village of the same block, there are about 200 families but only one hand pump. I met Sita at this sole functional hand pump. She said that she had come here at 10 a.m. and now it was around 2 p.m. In these four hours, she had managed to fill just one pitcher. Pinky, another resident of the village, said a bit more happily that she had come at 8 a.m. and had managed to fill three pitchers in the six hours. This sole functional pump gasps and stops after yielding just about one pitcher of water – about ten litres. The women have to patiently wait till it is able to deliver again.

Under a tree nearby, villagers explain that the only tank in the village has dried up. Villagers use bullock carts or cycles to fetch water from a distance of about 2 kms or so. It is common for villagers to spend about four hours a day just to get water.

There is no water in schools so thirsty children keep coming to their homes or to the hand pump to get a few drops of water. Drinking unclean water brings health problems, so more has to be spent on expensive treatment while less time is left for livelihood activities. More people are thus simply migrating to cities in search of employment.

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TheWire.in, 27 May, 2017, https://thewire.in/140451/bundelkhand-unquenched-thirst-causes-acute-distress-increases-susceptibility-disease-poverty-forced-migration/


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