Water is life … This motto suggests how important water is for life. A village in Rajasthan is craving to get this ‘life’. The villagers living on the hill have to walk 2 kilometers below to quench their thirst. The life of the women of the village is spent in water management. Now the situation is that it is becoming difficult for the youth of the village to find a bride. No one wants to marry their daughter in this village.
This unfortunate village is in Banswara, Rajasthan, which is famous as the city of Cherrapunji and hundred islands. The name of the village is Kundal and unfortunately despite the abundant water resources of the Mahi river, there is a huge lack of water in the small Saravan subdivision, due to which the lives of the villagers have become like hell. In the scorching summer, 300 residents of the village travel 1-2 km for two drops of water.
No bride is coming to the village.
Lack of water has also influenced the social life of the village, where the people of Kundal village are clipping from marrying their daughters. The educated youth of the village say that their marriages have also been postponed due to lack of water. A young graduate said, “When someone brings a marriage proposal, people refuse to marry their daughter due to water problem.”
300 people and a hand pump
This village with 70 houses has only one hand pump, where water has to wait for hours. This hand pump not only quenches the thirst of 300 people, but also hundreds of animals depend on it. The reservoirs dry up as soon as summer starts in this village, situated on the high hill. The wells and rivers have dried completely and most of the hand pumps have deteriorated. Every house water scheme is limited to paper only. Villagers said that they complained to the PHED department several times about the water problem, but no solution was done.
After filling the water, lock the drum.
Women who landed on the hill 1-2 km in search of water have exposed politicians and government machinery. The villagers say, “Leaders only come to take votes at the time of elections, after that no one comes to take care of us.” The villagers warned that they would not allow the leaders to enter the village during the Panchayat Raj elections. In summer, when the reservoirs dry up, the villagers bring water from far and wide, fill in drums and close them.
Anger in women
Women collect this water in drums and use it for drinking, cooking and bathing for several days. The women and youth of the village have demanded from the government to arrange clean drinking water immediately. The anger of women waiting for water for hours in the summer in the village was clearly visible. Villagers said, “The government should worry about us and find a permanent solution to the water problem.”
