‘I feel like I can not do it anymore:’ a never ending struggle to fetch water in Dindori

Gayatri Gautam lives in a family of seven in Kharghahna village, in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh. She complains of back pain and constant mental pressure to get the water early in the morning before her two sons– two years old and six months old– wake up. The daily routine of walking miles for water has taken a toll on her. But, she expects something would be done for her village to solve the problems.

“Our family’s water needs are significant. It has been months and I feel like I can not do it anymore,” she told us in a shivering voice.

Her husband and brother-in-law work as labourers, and she is often obligated to take one of her sons to fetch water.

“When the pipelines for Har Ghar Jal Yojna were being laid we were extremely happy… I hope it will be a reality soon,” she added.

According to the JJM dashboard out of a total of 463 households in Kharghahna village, only 80 remain to be connected with the water supply. However, villagers informed Ground Report about the scheme’s complete failure. Speaking on Har Ghar Jal Yojna, Lokesh Pateria, a member of Bajag block Janpad said,

“The money has been wasted. Even after spending Rs 1 crore, they are unable to provide water.”

For the last three months, Kharghahna village of Bajag block of Dindori district has been waiting for water supply. A ground report earlier reported on the water crisis and failure of Har Ghar Jal Yojna in the area. Jadeshwar Parmar, a 55-year-old farmer from Kharghahna wakes up and rides his cycle with empty containers to get water for the day.

“Whenever I am occupied with other work, my wife, who cannot ride a bicycle, walks to bring water,” he added.

Parmar says that villagers– mostly women– walk 4 km every day just to fetch water.

“It has been more than three months madam, I don’t know how long we are supposed to do this. It feels like we are living a life in a pre-independent era,” he told Ground Report.

The UN recognizes access to water and sanitation as fundamental human rights— necessary for everyone's health, dignity, and prosperity. But, the struggle of these villagers is a reality check of fundamental issues in India.

Will the monsoon help?

Rainwater might help to ease the water crisis but villagers worry about water-borne diseases. Pateria believes that people fetching water from small water puddles and unclean water sources can lead to diseases.

This area of the Dindori district is a tribal-dominated region. As per a study, the area is highly malaria endemic as this part of the Bajag block of the district has maintained a very high Annual Parasite Index (API) (=number of confirmed malaria cases/1,000 population, >30 per thousand) for the last several years. Despite the existing control programmes like the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination in India (2023-2027) and the state's Deendayal Mobile Hospital Scheme, Parmar informed Ground Report that every year there are cases of malaria during monsoons due to stagnant water in various areas of the village and blamed the authorities for lack of support. 

Recently, there has been an increase in diarrhoea cases in the district. At least five people have died due to the same. Various news reports highlight contaminated water as the main reason.

Even after several complaints by Pateria and locals to the collector's office, according to them, no effective action has been taken to ensure the water supply. The villagers find themselves helpless. Pateria added that the authorities should have used the money to dig more wells and repair handpumps in the villages, as many have dried up. He does not own a private borewell, so he relies solely on rainwater for his crops.

“I hope the rains can at least help my peanut farms,”  he added.

Amrit Sarovar's scheme fails in the district

The Mission Amrit Sarovar, launched on 24th April 2022, aimed at developing/rejuvenating 75 Amrit Sarovar (Pond) in each rural district of the country, totalling about 50,000 Amrit Sarovars across the country. 

One and a half years ago, a pond was built in Sarhari Gram Panchayat, roughly ten kilometres from Dindori district headquarters, as part of the Amrit Sarovar Yojana at a cost of approx 57 lakh rupees. 

Dashrath Rathore, Deputy Sarpanch of the Sarahari Gram Panchayat told Ground Report that this pond was full of water during the rainy season, but due to poor construction, the water leaked quickly, and the pond dried up before the rainy season ended.  He explained that the process generally includes digging up to 5-7ft. of the land, laying the layers of black soil and murum soil, followed by using a roller to flatten the surface.

“They did not use any rolling machines and therefore, the mud flows and does not hold water,” said Rathore.

The villagers also planted 500 saplings around the pond, but due to no water, they have dried too. According to the villagers, Rs. 50,000 were invested in fishes for the pond and most of them died within 2 months, as soon as the pond started drying up. Meanwhile, Santosh Rajput, a resident of Kharghar informed that the scheme has not reached his village yet.

“It is corruption at all levels,  our complaints and needs go unnoticed," Rajput claimed. 

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