Water crisis in Madhya Pradesh village forces women into 50-foot-deep rocky ravine
The saying "boond-boond se ghat bharat hai (many a little makes a mickle)" often describes patience and perseverance. But in a small village in Madhya
The saying "boond-boond se ghat bharat hai (many a little makes a mickle)" often describes patience and perseverance. But in a small village in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, the phrase is a harsh reality. Here, people quite literally collect water drop-by-drop to survive. India Today’s Ravish Pal Singh reached ground zero in Dhar and captured the situation that raises serious questions around the struggles people have to grapple with to fulfil needs as basic as water. Read Full Story Here is what he found When I arrived in Utawa village, I knew there was a water shortage. Reports had indicated that residents were struggling for drinking water. However, what I witnessed on the ground was far more disturbing than a simple water crisis. It was a glaring gap between official claims and reality—a gap that, quite literally, stretched 50-feet-deep into a rocky ravine. It was around noon when I reached the village. The sun was unforgiving, and the temperature had already crossed 43 degrees Celsius. As I walked through the settlement, I noticed a group of women carrying empty containers on their heads and making their way towards a barren stretch of land. Curious, I followed them. After a short walk, the terrain suddenly opened into a deep ravine surrounded by rugged cliffs and jagged rocks. The women pointed towards the bottom and told me that this was where they came every day to fetch water.
Just looking down from the edge was enough to make me feel uneasy. The descent appeared dangerous, with loose stones and steep slopes. Yet the women began climbing down with practised ease. Determined to understand their struggle, I followed them. Holding onto rocks and carefully placing each step, I descended into the ravine. The journey itself was exhausting and frightening. By the time I reached the bottom, I had begun to understand the price these women pay every single day for a bucket of water. What I found there was shocking. There was no well. No handpump. No stream. Instead, tiny droplets of water were slowly seeping out from cracks in the earth. The droplets collected in a small depression in the ground, forming a shallow pool. This was the village's water source. The flow was painfully slow. Once the accumulated water was scooped out, it took nearly two hours for the pit to fill again. The women sat quietly around the depression, waiting patiently for their turn. There was no alternative. Among them was Sushma, a resident of the village. As we spoke, she told me that fear accompanies every trip to the ravine. Pointing towards a dry, fallen tree nearby, she recalled a tragic incident from last year. Her sister-in-law had come here to collect water when a large branch of a tree suddenly fell on her.
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