"Hand pump waali chachis" have been repairing tube wells and hand pumps for free.
A group of tribal women from Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur often travel to different parts of the state to help villagers in need. Dressed in colourful saris, their heads covered, the group of 15 can be seen carrying bags containing screws and fasteners, nuts and bolts and hammers.
They are popular in Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states as "Hand pump waali chachis", who repair hand pumps and tube wells for free. They have been walking around villages and fixing faulty pumps for the last nine years. Sometimes they have walked for over 25 kms at a stretch to reach a broken pumps. These women have even travelled to the national capital. But they never comaplin as they are driven by a purpose -- to help villagers.
They never went to any school, and without any technical knowledge, these women have been fixing all sorts of pumps with ease.
"We have repaired tube wells in Bhopal, Rajasthan and Delhi. We travel on foot to nearby villages. We have been doing it for many years, but haven't received any help from authorities," one of them told news agency ANI.
Gruelling temperatures and water scarcity have made matters worse for villagers. Every single drop of water is precious. The villagers say when the government failed to help them, these women came to their rescue.
It takes months for small repairs if they call government officials, a villager said, but when they call the "
chachis" they rush to help.
"We just have to inform them and they always show up to help us. They have never bothered about heat or rain or expenses," a villager said.
(With inputs from ANI)