Madhya Pradesh Villagers Have A Tough Choice: Go Thirsty Or Starve

Bhopal: Women and children of Raja ki Munderi village, in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district take a long trek every day to fetch water. Nine borewells supplying drinking water to the village have dried up. A handful of private borewells on the fields provide them with water just enough for a day.

The villagers, most of whom are daily wage labourers, have a stark choice - either they spend the day fetching water or earn their bread.

"Borewells are also on the verge of drying up. It takes 2 to 2.5 hours to fill water. I am not able to go to work as I have to get water," said Bharat Kushwaha, one of the villagers.

Around 5 km from Raja Ki Munder, in Ghugripura village, the situation is no different. Only 12 of the over 60 borewells in the area are functional. The rest have dried up.

The crop yield has been low for three years running and 62-year-old farmer Jaatav Ram is thinking of selling his buffaloes. Providing livestock with fodder and water is getting difficult by the day.

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"My borewell has dried up and I'm facing a lot of problem in giving them water and fodder," said Jaatav Ram. "I'm buying fodder from 50 km away."

The district administration admits the villages near Shivpuri are facing water crisis but claims to have taken adequate steps to help the villagers.

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DK Maurya, CEO of District Panchayat told NDTV: "We are putting riser pipes and digging new borewells to provide water in villages. Even then if there is a problem we are acquiring private borewells to provide water to people."

But on the ground, people say not enough has been done. The question that remains unanswered is why the administration reacted late and did nothing to prevent the water crisis when drought was declared here in October.